The following comment has been submitted to The Punch in response to Malcolm Farr's piece:

Malcolm Farr is in such a sour mood! We all go to the press gallery ball and have a good time but he comes up with that anti-Greens grizzle. Yes, I did insist on paying for the tickets - that meant an extra $250 for charity - but Malcolm begrudges it. Though he didn't raise the matter with me at the ball.

Greens Leader Bob Brown today introduced the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Tobacco Industry Donations) Bill 2011 in the Senate to seek an end to Big Tobacco buying influence in Parliament.

"The Greens don't accept donations from Big Tobacco and we commend the ALP for ending its acceptance of money from those peddling these deadly products. If a change of law is required to have the Coalition end donations from Big Tobacco, then that is what this Parliament should do," Senator Brown said.

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown held a press conference to discuss the banning of tobacco company donations to political campaigns, the ongoing work by the Multi Party Climate Change Committee to price pollution, the appointment of former ALP secretary Karl Bitar as a pro-gambling lobbyist, and the expansion of the Greens team that will occur on July 1st.

The Australian Greens will move to amend electoral laws to ban donations to political parties by tobacco companies, Greens Leader Bob Brown said.

“We hope the Government’s proposed plain-packaging legislation, which the Greens support, gets through soon. The Greens will also move to ban donations to political parties from tobacco companies,” Senator Brown said.

Graeme Wood is the face of business that can give Australia a world lead in an age of dangerous climate change, forest destruction and loss of biodiversity, Greens Leader Bob Brown said in Hobart today.

"Graeme is an extremely thoughtful and long-sighted character whose sheer common sense has led him to success in business as well as becoming a leader in ecological wisdom in an age where that is badly needed," Senator Brown said.

The current political culture in Australia decrees that if you hand a minister $10,000 in a paper bag marked ''for you'' in return for a talk about your business plans, it is a bribe. But if you hand the $10,000 to a party official to sit next to the minister at dinner and discuss your business plans, that is OK.

The Australian Greens say ending all large political donations would make a tremendous contribution to stamping out corporate influence in politics.

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown said that the call today by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh for a ban on donations aligned her with the Greens and supported widespread public opinion.

"Donations should only be allowed from individuals and only up to a limit of $1000."

Senator Brown said that elections should be publicly funded, as they are in Canada.

The proposal by Independent Senator Nick Xenophon to require details of MPs travel to be published within 60 days may actually weaken the existing requirement for reporting within 35 days,
Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

"The fact is that all travel paid for other than by the MP themselves has to be notified on the Senate register or to the Senate within 35 days."

"So it seems Senator Xenophon's motion may actually delay, if not weaken, the reporting of any trips which are paid for with potential strings attached."

Wednesday, 11 March 2009

The Coalition and Family First today blocked six patently reasonable reforms to the Electoral Act to keep a system of Howard-era cover-ups and political murk in place, Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

"They voted against fair democratic reform aimed at reducing the influence of wealthy donors. It corrupts politics. Senator Fielding has relegated the idea of putting the interests of families' first," Senator Brown said.

Further information: Ebony Bennett 0409 164 603

Greens call for public funding of elections and ban on corporate donations

Gunns Limited donates $64,750 to the Liberal Party before election

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown says corporate funding of political parties is corrupting and should be replaced, as in Canada, by public funding.

"The Gunns Ltd donations tallying $64,750* to the Liberal Party in 2007 underscore the problem, as pro-pulpmill Liberals in Bass and Braddon faced defeat by the Liberal voters defecting from the Howard government to the Greens," Senator Brown said.