Tag: James Packer

Public policy should be made for all Australians – not just those with the resources or connections to lobby and influence politicians. Australia’s political institutions are generally robust, but many of the “risk factors” for policy capture by special interests are present in our system. Political parties are heavily reliant on major donors, money can buy access, relationships and political connections, and there’s a lack of transparency in dealings between policymakers and special interests. We propose a suite of reforms to reduce the risks of policy capture while still protecting the rights of all individuals and groups to contribute to policy discussions. Greater transparency means more opportunity for the public, media and the parliament itself to scrutinise the policy-making process and call out undue influence or give voice to under-represented views. We recommend three key reforms to improve transparency. Transparency is not enough on its own – strong voices are still needed to call out problems, and voters still need to hold elected officials to account. Boost public trust in politicians Trust in government is in decline: in a 2018 survey, 85% of Australians thought at least some federal MPs were corrupt. The best defence against policy capture is healthy public debate Greater transparency and accountability would help reduce the risk of policy capture by special interests. We suggest two reforms to reduce the influence of well-resourced special interests and promote broader participation in public debate: First, a cap on political advertising expenditure during election campaigns would reduce the imbalance between groups with very different means to broadcast political views.