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Political Party Donation Data Analysis

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In the Media

What I stand for

I have 3 primary interests. I am here to

• Activate rapid change to respond to the climate crisis
• Improve equitable access for all Australians; including housing, and eliminating poverty
• Support a fair and informed democracy; demanding integrity and transparency from our politicians

I believe politicians, and the decisions and plans they make, need to be visible and accountable to the public. Currently, we don't see them out and about or accessible for conversation, despite being paid a base salary of 211K a year. They are not seen to be actively consulting with the public, and are not demonstrating accountability or integrity in their activities.

I have taken publicly available data from transparency.aec.gov.au to analyse where major political parties collect donations from. It really paints a picture on how policies and alliances are currently being made in government, which has not been transparent. FUSION only accepts donations from individuals, not from companies or organisations, for the benefit of maintaining integrity. Government should be serving the best interests of individuals, not companies and organisations.

eg. Surf Life Savers club creating ads supporting the Liberal Party? Follow the donation money.

This explains why the fossil fuel industry, and the governments' Low Emissions Technology roadmap is the current plan to address worryingly accelerating climate change. If you take a look where political party donation money is coming from, you can see a company (coincidentally?) named Low Emissions Technology Australia, aka COAL21, who is a large donor to the Liberal and National parties.

The current government plans to target Net Zero Emissions (which doesn't actually mean they'll stop using coal - it means they'll try and "balance out" emissions by planting more trees, or somehow collecting emissions and storing them away. Current ideas are to turn gas emissions into a liquid and inject it into the ground - which requires using energy to do so, which will create more emissions while they're trying to neutralise emissions...), while the government also provides $11.6 billion dollars in our TAX money to support fossil fuel industries, which are globally receiving an estimated $11 million dollars a minute. Could we use this money to support transitioning our energy industry and manufacturing towards developing clean renewables instead?

Fossil fuel industries are already very rich and highly profitable. So, why are they accepting our tax money to support them?

It might have to do with being very large donors to the major parties.

In 2019, coal mining companies in Australia only paid a 12% company tax rate, lower than the 17.6% company tax rate paid by most Australian industries. Standard company tax rates from the ATO are 26-30%, which is much lower than individual income tax rate (the majority of us) which is a minimum of 32.5% for anyone earning more than $40k a year.

Fair democracy assumes that everyone is informed to make decisions, especially when it comes to voting.

We need Australians to be aware and across the basics of how #auspol works. To be disengaged or disillusioned and disappointed by the state of politics is not surprising, however apathy is to the benefit of politicians. They wouldn't mind if you had no idea what they were up to with our money.

To be informed requires equity in communicating information. There is an unfair tilt towards parties that have the financial access to advertising and media. 

eg. UAP accepting donations from media outlets - fair democracy? 

I will be working to enhance accessibility and visibility of Australian politics by increasing awareness and education on the basics of how government works, what all those jargon words mean (jargon is a barrier to engagement and accessibility if it obscures understanding or is not explained). I respect the work of Auspol Explained who works to make politics (which is usually dry and unpalatable) easily understood through his passion, detailed knowledge and research. Why is this type of education not widely available or readily accessible?

Do 18 year olds feel equipped, or know how to vote in their best interests?

We need people to feel informed and confident about what we are to expect from our government and politicians, and know how we can demand it.

Bio

I was a pharmacist, and then moved into digital transformation projects as a business analyst in NSW Health with the COVID19 pandemic response, NSW public hospitals installing electronic medical record software (in place of clipboards and paper), and website/system projects for Medicare & Centrelink. It is my job to identify and understand problems, and come to a collaborative and holistic plan to address it.

This is what I do well, and we need to see more of it in government.

To best tackle problems and find solutions, you need to be able to talk to many different groups and individuals, ask many questions to understand the situation from their side. I work alongside large and complex groups with the spirit of being collaborative and transparent, as we try to reach a mutually beneficial solution that everyone can agree with.

I then make specific and detailed implementation plans, with a "change management" approach which acknowledges that change, even if it's a "good" change (eg healthier diet and lifestyle!), is still hard and takes a lot of effort and communication for it to take hold.

I am grateful I have been refining these skills, and I do not take them for granted.  I intend to apply these methods towards building better government. We need more engagement and consultation from our politicians when making plans and decisions.

With FUSION: it's been an enriching & expansive experience merging into the Fusion Party.

I had been with the Science Party since mid-2020 and was glad to find a party that aligned with and inspired my future vision, particularly in acknowledging the need for a Federal ICAC, and policy that involves consultation with reputable expertise. The Science Party stood for the transparent and even-handed approach of using the scientific method for policy making. This approach to me is the most objective, fair, and open-minded way to make decisions, supporting greater outcomes for all. No biases or holding onto old ways.