KarunaNews Story

The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, has announced plans to ban political donations from state elections, paving the way for nation-leading electoral reforms. The state’s electoral amendment bill announced recently will ban electoral donations and gifts to registered political parties, members of parliament and candidates. The state will provide funding to allow parties and candidates to contest elections, run campaigns and promote political ideas. Malinauskas said his bill would put South Australia on the “cusp of becoming a world leader in ending the nexus between money and political power”. While an agreement between the major political parties and independents has not yet been reached, the bill is nonetheless expected to pass soon. Malinauskas told the Guardian that the bill was “something democracies everywhere should be pursuing.”