Independents To Force Action On Gambling, Lobbying Laws

Independents are pressing hot-button issues such as prohibiting betting ads, opening ministerial journals to the general public and suppressing the impact of political lobbyists.


Crossbenchers have actually laid out a list of key concerns if they're re-elected into a hung parliament, telling an openness forum they'll require the federal government to act on the mainly unblemished concerns.


Reforming lobbying, allowing the nationwide anti-corruption commission to hold public hearings, creating a whistleblower protection authority and having fact in political marketing laws are amongst the targets for crossbench MPs.


This included Allegra Spender, Zali Steggall, Monique Ryan, Andrew Wilkie, Kate Chaney and Senator David Pocock.


Ms Steggall indicated customer defenses versus misleading and misleading ads, comparing it with no truth in political marketing laws.


"It's like we don't value our ballot rights the exact same way as we value our consumer rights," she stated.


Senator Pocock called lobbying laws "an outright joke", saying 80 per cent of lobbyists weren't covered by the standard procedure and there were no genuine charges for misconduct.


The senator and Dr Ryan have actually pressed in parliament for laws that would open ministerial journals so the public can discover ministers consulting with lobbyists.


Ms Spender likewise called an overall ban on gambling ads after Labor shelved strategies to take action.


"This is a contest in between vested interests who are winning to date, versus neighborhood interests who understand that this needs to be prohibited and I will defend that," she said.


Ms Spender is also fighting the Australian Electoral Commission for more transparency over its findings that a person person was accountable for sending some 47,000 unauthorised pamphlets targeting her in her electorate of Wentworth.


The commission said the individual acted alone, had no link to a political celebration or prospects objecting to the seat and it was thinking about whether to push for civil charges for breaking electoral law after the May 3 election.


Ms concern about keeping the identity concealed, asking "how can citizens think about the source if the AEC will not identify that source", in referral to the laws needing authorisation for openness purposes.