Tasmanian Government to release report on electoral donations in mid-February

The government has had in its possession for more than a year a report on electoral donation reform, but has excused itself of any action on it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report is due to be made public in full next month and Mr Gutwein has said all options for change remain on the table, including the use of public money in election campaigns.

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All Australian jurisdictions except for Tasmania and the Northern Territory pay a sum per vote through public funding.

At a federal level, each vote received pays $2.74

In Western Australia, $1.91 is received per vote, $8.24 is received for each vote in the ACT, and $6 is received per vote in Victoria.

Victoria and New South Wales have other public funding sources as well.

As for election donation reporting, there is a 21-day disclosure rule for those two states while disclosures need to be made on a weekly basis in South Australia and the ACT.

A 2019 University of Tasmania paper by Richard Eccleston and Zoe Jay on campaign finance reform in Tasmania did not recommend general public funding for candidates or parties for election campaigns.

But it said there should be some public funding allocated to assist with administration associated with making donation disclosures.

It acknowledged public funding for political campaigning was designed to reduce the demand for private donations and the influence of donors.

"But research from other Australian jurisdictions suggests that public funding does not reduce reliance on large private donations and can inflate campaign spending," it said.

"It can also favour established parties and incumbent MPs relative to emerging parties, independents and new candidates."

The Greens have stated support for public money to be used for campaigns while Labor is yet to reveal its position.

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