PUBLIC FUNDING BY THE BACK DOOR

This editorial was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday April 11, 2008.  Public funding of state election campaigns?

It seems NSW already has it, at least for Labor.  The Government gives grants to the unions and the unions donate money to the Government.

That is certainly the case with the Transport Workers Union.  Over the past six years the Government has given the union more than $700,000 in grants and, in the same period, the union has donated $746,288 to the Labor Party.

Most of the money came from WorkCover and was apparently to fund unspecified “projects” in occupational health and safety.  WorkCover is within the domain of the Minister for Industrial Relations, John Della Bosca, who, as the Herald reports today, finds himself fending off a widening range of questions about the Government/s largesse to its associates.

Mr. Della Bosca insists he had no personal involvement in the grants to the TWU, which he says were at arm’s length and rigorously audited.  But audits usually involve no more than a sampling of financial records.  In a sensitive instance like this, involving public funds, there should be exhaustive detail of how money was spent:  the dates, times and places, and the who, when and where of every dollar.  Expenditure should be fully receipted and on the public record.

Then there is the broader question of why unions should be getting public funds at all.  If unions wants work related programs for members, they should fund them from unions fees.  If public funds are to be spent, it should be on programs for all, not just union members, who make up barely one fifth of the workforce.  And even if all grant money is properly spent, a deeper problem remains:  Every dollar of public money spent by a union on its own activities frees up a dollar to spend on something else, like donations to the ALP.

The Premier, Morris Iemma, is right to have promised public funding for state elections.  It is belated recognition that the way both sides of politics rely on big donors, especially in development and hospitality - creates a clear conflict of interest.

However, there is no point in closing the front door and leaving the back door wide open.  It is clear that  Government grants to unions can be abused.  Grant money can still find its way directly or otherwise to party coffers.  Alternatively, grant money may help unions conserve funds for their own electioneering such as the unions pro-Labor Campaign against Work choices before the Federal Election last year.

Public funding for state elections will be pointless unless such loopholes are closed.