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ELECTION FUNDING (AMENDMENT) BILL 1991
NEW SOUTH WALES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This Explanatory Note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament)
The Parliamentary Electorates and Elections (Amendment) Bill 1991 is cognate with
this Bill.
The object of this Bill is to amend the Election Funding Act 1981 SO as:
(a) to provide that a party is eligible for election funding for a general election if:
* a member of the group endorsed by the party for election to the
Legislative Council is elected; or
* the group receives at least 4% of all first preference votes at the periodic
Council election; and
(b) to provide that an independent group is eligible for election funding for a
general election if:
* a member of the group is elected to the Legislative Council; or
* the group receives at least 4% of all first preference votes at the periodic
Council election; and
(c) to provide that an independent candidate for the Legislative Council at a
general election is eligible for election funding if:
* the candidate is elected to the Legislative Council; or
* the candidate receives at least 4% of all first preference votes at the
periodic Council election; and
(d) to provide that a candidate for the Legislative Assembly at a general election is
eligible for election funding if:
* the candidate is elected to the Legislative Assembly; or
* the candidate receives at least 4% of all first preference votes in the
electoral district; and
(e) to provide for advance payments to parties for each of three years before a
general election, at the rate of 10% of the amount paid to the party for the
previous general election; and
Election Funding (Amendment) 1991
(f) to enable parties to be eligible for election funding at by-elections, but on a
limited basis; and
(g) to require the Election Funding Authority to pay 70% of a claim for election
funding made by a party (less any advance payments), within 14 days after the
claim was lodged with the Authority; and
(h) to empower the Election Funding Authority to waive the audit requirement for
a declaration of political contributions and expenditure to be lodged by a group
or candidate, if:
* contributions were not received and expenditure was not incurred; or
* the group or candidate is not eligible for election funding; and
(i) to make other provisions of a minor, consequential or ancillary nature.
Clause 1 specifies the short title of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the proposed Act to commence on assent.
Clause 3 is a formal provision giving effect to the Schedule of amendments.
SCHEDULE 1--AMENDMENTS
Eligibility for election funding
Schedule 1 (2) amends section 59 to give effect to the purpose mentioned in
paragraph (a) above. At present, a party is eligible for election funding if the number of
first preference votes received by the group endorsed by it exceeds half a quota (3.125%
of first preference votes).
Schedule 1 (3) amends section 60 to give effect to the purpose mentioned in
paragraph (b) above. At present, an independent group is eligible for election funding if
the number of first preference votes received by the group exceeds half a quota.
Schedule 1 (4) amends section 61 to give effect to the purpose mentioned in
paragraph (c) above. At present, an independent candidate at a Legislative Council
election is eligible for election funding if the candidate is elected or the number of first
preference votes received by the candidate exceeds half a quota.
Schedule 1 (5) amends section 65 to give effect to the purpose mentioned in
paragraph (d) above. At present, a candidate at a Legislative Assembly election is
eligible for election funding if the candidate is elected or the number of first preference
votes received by the candidate exceeds half a quota.
Advance payments
Schedule 1 (6) amends section 69 to give effect to the purpose mentioned in
paragraph (e) above. At present, a party is eligible for advance payments for each of two
years before a general election, at the rate of 10% and 20% respectively of the amount
paid to the party for the previous general election.
Entitlement of parties at by-elections
Schedule 1 (7) inserts a new section 73A to give effect to the purpose mentioned in
paragraph (f) above. At present, parties are not eligible for election funding at
Prepayment on lodgement of claims
Schedule 1 (8) inserts a new section 77A to give effect to she purpose mentioned in
paragraph (g) above. At present, there is no provision for payment of claims for election
funding by instalments. Under the new scheme, the Election Funding Authority is
required to pay 70% of the amount claimed (reduced by any advance payments) within
14 days after a claim is lodged with it.
Schedule 1 (10) is a consequential amendment of section 112. The amendment
extends the provisions of the section to amounts recoverable under the new section 77A
from an unincorporated party. The result is that the recovery of any excess payments by
way of prepayments to an unincorporated party is facilitated.
Audit of declarations of political contributions and expenditure
Schedule 1 (9) amends section 93 to give effect to the purpose mentioned in
paragraph (h) above. At present, a declaration is required to be audited even though a
group or candidate received no political contributions and incurred no political
expenditure of the kind required to be disclosed, or even though the group or candidate
is not eligible to receive election funding.
Transitional and other provisions
Schedule 1 (11) amends Schedule 2 to insert transitional provisions consequent on
the enactment of the Bill. The general result of the provisions is that the amendments
appiy to future elections, but that the new arrangements for advance payments will not
apply until after the next general election.
Schedule 1 (1) omits section 3, which shows the arrangement of the Act. Such
arrangements are now replaced by more comprehensive tables of provisions.