Electoral Act

Finally the secret is out – no one wants the current practice of political donations and campaign fundraising to continue.

Business became sick of it long before the GFC cut their lobbying budgets. Most realised that donating became more of a risk than an advantage and most influential business people realised they could get a meeting regardless of donations. Some have even worked out that you don’t need to pay $10,000 a month for a lobbyist to get you the appointment.
Politicians have grown to resent the drain on their most precious commodity – time. Time to think, time to work on policy and speeches, time to meet people without the unspoken pressure of donations and most importantly the precious remaining time to spend with family and friends.

Continue reading "Time for a truce in political donations arms race" »

“You lying Labor bastard” read the mail from north-west Tasmania, “Piss off”. It was hate mail from heaven. Let me explain.

It was mid 2007 and I was Labor’s National Campaign Director. We had started a nation wide campaign about a less popular aspect of the Howard Government’s policy agenda. Part of that campaign was an informative pamphlet about the finer points of the policy. It was, of course, sprinkled with the odd bit of political rhetoric and carefully constructed messages.
The hate mail was return mail.  A loyal Coalition voter had decided to give me a bit of “what-for” with a thick black pen. It was heavenly because I knew the pamphlets were actually going out to voters (a constant anxiety for any campaign director). I became even happier as the weeks rolled on and the Coalition hate mail intensified from across the country.

Continue reading "Heavenly hate mail and the Lindsay pamphlet scandal" »