#OurDemocracy

SIGN PETITION
 

#OurDemocracy

From healthcare and education, to protecting the environment for future generations, the health of our democracy impacts many issues that affect our daily lives. 

While we can be proud of our democracy, we can’t be complacent. One big issue we need to address is the power that harmful industries have to skew democratic processes to win political outcomes that put their profits ahead of our wellbeing. 

Industries like gambling and tobacco spend millions of dollars campaigning against reforms to protect our communities. Banks and fossil fuel companies donate millions to the major parties to discourage politicians from regulating them properly. Together, corporations spend billions hiring lobbyists to cosy up to politicians. 

They are able to do all this because Australia lacks basic transparency and integrity safeguards, and our outdated laws leave money in politics woefully underregulated. The impact is real, and deeply felt by the families torn apart by gambling addiction, and the communities who have lost their entire towns in bushfires fuelled by climate change.

 

Exposing corporate influence on our democracy

In Australia, corporate influence over our politicians is threatening our democracy. What is considered illegal and corrupt influence overseas is business as usual in Canberra. Selling Out: How powerful industries corrupt our democracy, a new report from the Human Rights Law Centre exposes how the powerful fossil fuels, gambling and tobacco industries are taking advantage of Australia’s weak integrity laws and distorting our democratic processes to put their profits ahead of our wellbeing.  

The report outlines how current laws and regulations allow corporations to put their profits ahead of the wellbeing of our communities. Australian laws permit big industry to contribute millions to the major political parties’ election campaigns. These donations act as an insurance policy against strong regulation. As well as favourable treatment, corporate donations buy access to politicians that ordinary people would never get. To increase their access to power, corporations hire ex-politicians and advisors. When these methods fail to secure the desired outcome, these industries use their vast wealth to fund punishing multi-million-dollar attack campaigns. 

The political control wielded by these industries is holding back stronger regulation to protect us from their harmful practises. This report details the human cost of this form of legalised corruption, from lives destroyed by addiction to whole communities lost to climate-change induced natural disasters, and provides clear solutions to stop the cycle of corporate influence in our politics. 

Vision, problem, solution

We are calling for a new set of rules that will reset our democracy and put the best interests of people, the planet and future generations back at the heart of government decision-making.

Over the last 12 months, the Human Rights Law Centre, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Australian Democracy Network have been working with experts and civil society organisations to design the Framework for a Fair Democracy. The Framework calls on the Australian Parliament to pass laws to achieve 11 clear, common sense outcomes to make our democracy work for all of us. 

So far, over 20 organisations have joined the  #OurDemocracy campaign to have the reform asks in the Framework made into law. The Framework covers:

  • stamping out corruption through strong accountability laws, overseen by an integrity watchdog with teeth; 

  • ending the cycle of cash for access, so harmful industries can’t give big donations to politicians in exchange for secret meetings and political favours; and 

  • levelling the playing field in our election debates, so voters hear from those with the best ideas, not just those with the biggest bank balance.