Arabic version: حزب العمال التسماني يقترح سقوفاً للإنفاق في انتخابات الولاية

According to ABC News, Tasmanian Labor will introduce a private members’ bill this week seeking expenditure caps for state election campaigns for the first time. Opposition leader Josh Willie described the proposed changes as a guardrail against “corporate capture” and said elections should be contests of ideas rather than bank balances.

Under the proposal, political parties could spend up to $50,000 for each candidate they run. A party fielding 35 candidates across Tasmania’s five lower house seats would therefore face a maximum campaign spend of $1.75 million. Independents would have a $60,000 limit because they do not have a central campaign, while third-party campaigners and associated entities would be capped at $75,000.

The proposed limits would cover advertising, posts and flyers, consultant and agency fees, opinion polling, research and gifts in kind. Staff, administration and operating expenses would be excluded. The caps would apply from nine months before an election, or from the day parliament is dissolved if an early election is called, and would be indexed to inflation. Overspending could attract a financial penalty worth twice the excess amount, while intentional circumvention could become a criminal offence carrying possible fines or jail terms.

Labor has briefed the crossbench and hopes to debate the bill in the lower house before the end of the year. Tasmania already applies spending limits to upper house and local government elections, while federal elections and state elections in New South Wales, Western Australia and the ACT also have caps. University of Tasmania Professor Richard Eccleston said voters were concerned about the influence of money and wealthy actors in politics, but Geoffrey Watson of the Centre for Public Integrity cautioned that caps could greatly favour incumbents over newcomers.