Independents To Force Action On Gambling, Lobbying Laws

Independents are pushing hot-button problems such as banning betting ads, opening ministerial journals to the public and curbing the impact of political lobbyists.


Crossbenchers have detailed a list of key concerns if they're re-elected into a hung parliament, informing an openness online forum they'll force the government to act upon the mostly .


Reforming lobbying, permitting the nationwide anti-corruption commission to hold public hearings, producing a whistleblower security authority and having reality in political marketing laws are amongst the targets for crossbench MPs.


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


Ms Steggall pointed to consumer securities against misleading and misleading ads, comparing it without any fact in political advertising laws.


"It resembles we don't value our voting rights the same way as we value our consumer rights," she said.


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


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


Ms Spender likewise named an overall restriction on betting advertisements after Labor shelved strategies to act.


"This is a contest in between vested interests who are winning to date, versus community interests who understand that this needs to be prohibited and I will battle for that," she stated.


Ms Spender is also combating the Australian Electoral Commission for more transparency over its findings that a person individual was accountable for sending out 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 party or prospects objecting to the seat and it was thinking about whether to promote civil charges for breaking electoral law after the May 3 election.


Ms Spender expressed issue about keeping the identity concealed, asking "how can citizens think about the source if the AEC will not identify that source", in reference to the laws needing authorisation for transparency functions.