The Canberra Liberals have accused the ACT Greens of profiting from the 2020 election to fund their next campaign, a charge the Greens deny.
Jeremy Hanson, Liberal deputy leader, said the Greens made a windfall profit of $188,771 due to a loophole in the law, “at the expense of ACT taxpayers from public election funding”.
According to the ACT Electoral Commission (Elections ACT), the ACT Greens received $313,538.97 in public election funding, and spent $136,839 – leaving a total of $176,699.97 unspent. A Liberal spokesperson understood that the Greens spent an extra $12,000 or so. (The ACT Greens amended their returns in September 2021.)
Mr Hanson implied that the Greens used that money to open their new office in Braddon – headquarters of their 2022 Federal election campaign – and called on them to repay the money.
“This is not how electoral funding is intended to be used,” Mr Hanson said. “It is provided to reduce the influence of big donors, not use ACT taxpayer money to fund federal campaigns.”
Mr Hanson noted that the Commission and the ACT Government’s Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety recommended changing the Electoral Act to limit the amount of public funding to ensure the amount received did not exceed the amount of electoral expenditure incurred.
“Even ACT Labor recognises the problem, stating that funding ‘was never intended as a means for parties or candidates to make a profit’,” Mr Hanson said.
“For all their moralising, the party profiteering off ACT taxpayers are the ACT Greens. I am calling for them to pay the profit back, and for the law to be changed to prevent anyone from profiteering again.
“That is what the community expects, and what the Greens should do,” Mr Hanson said.
ACT Greens response
“The ACT Greens did not profit from the ACT Election in 2020,” said party leader Shane Rattenbury.
During the election campaign, the Greens spent more than the income they received from the ACT Electoral Commission, Mr Rattenbury said. However, the reporting categories did not include some of their costs, such as paying campaign staff.
“To be clear, this funding was spent on genuine election costs.”
Mr Rattenbury said that in 2015, he was the only member of the Legislative Assembly to vote against a bill to increase public funding fourfold from $2 to $8 per vote, as Labor and the Liberals – including Mr Hanson – agreed on a bill that “served their vested interests”. The bill also lifted the cap on donations and removed the limit on gifts.
“It seems that Mr Hanson no longer likes the bill that he strongly supported back in 2015, because it no longer suits his wishes,” Mr Rattenbury said.
“Unlike the Canberra Liberals, the ACT Greens are proud to be a party that is committed to enhancing Australia’s democratic process and transparent funding arrangements rather than accepting donations from corporations trying to buy influence.
“It appears our recent success based on low cost, grassroots campaigning is a threat to Mr Hanson and the Canberra Liberals.”
