Our democracy relies on people trusting that their elected representatives will act honestly and with integrity. Once trust in the political process is broken, democracy itself is damaged. Corruption must be identified and rooted-out. Government appointments must be made on merit. Political donations must be transparent. And the community’s voice must be heard in government decision-making.
As an independent, I am not beholden to any political party, lobby group or special interest. I am accountable only to the people of Wentworth who elected me to represent them. I’m advocating for an integrity and accountability agenda based on several key aspects:
-
Establishing a National Anti-Corruption Commission: this was a key demand from the Wentworth community at the election. Corrupt behaviour by government officials must be stopped so that trust in the democratic process can be rebuilt.
-
Reforming political donation laws: the public needs to know who is funding political campaigns. I want to see mandatory real time public disclosures on any donation over $2,000 and I want citizens to have say in how we reform our donation laws. I also want to see truth in political advertising laws that make statements in political adverts subject to the same rules as any other form of advertising.
-
Community involvement in decision-making: people should have a say on the decisions that govern them. I’m advocating for the government to trial Citizens Assemblies to engage the public on challenging issues, such as donation reform, where a community voice is really important.
-
Ending pork barrelling: spending government money solely to win votes rather than on the needs of the community must be stopped. We need to stop grants for political processes, ensure public money is spent according to transparent processes, restore National Audit Office funding so we can have confidence in government spending decisions.
What have I done so far
-
Worked closely with the Attorney-General and legal experts on the drafting of the legislation for a National Anti Corruption Commission
-
Advocated for introduction of citizens assemblies (as used in France and Ireland) to help address difficult societal challenges