Senator BARTLETT (5:06 PM) —For the record, as I indicated previously when we were debating the message earlier on today, the Democrats will support the minister's motion that we not insist on the original Senate amendment in this area. We do acknowledge the government's taking on board of the intent and aim of the Senate's amendment from earlier in the year. As far as we can ascertain, the extra amendments that the House of Representatives has made to that Senate amendment are a refinement or an improvement on the initial proposal.

It is worth mentioning the Democrats' longstanding commitment in the area of electoral legislation for greater disclosure of donations and assistance to political parties, and it is pleasing to see the ongoing commitment of all political parties. The proposals for declaration of donations and issues such as that were first floated by the Democrats probably 15 or more years ago—from memory, by my Queensland predecessor Senator Macklin. I think it is fair to say that there was far from universal support from political parties for those proposals. I think it is a credit to all political parties, an indication of the improvement in the political process and also a recognition in the parliament—taking on board community beliefs and community perceptions about what is necessary in terms of transparency in the political process—that it has now become a close to universally accepted principle that we should have openness in relation to disclosure of political donations and related matters such as loans.

All that remains to be debated is the issue of how best to ensure balance in relation to issues of openness. I think that is an issue on which there have been a lot of advances in recent years in the political arena across all political parties. It is an issue that the Democrats will continue to promote and to monitor to examine potential loopholes, such as those which have been addressed by the amendments that will be contained in the new act. It is an ongoing issue; it is not something that is now resolved and we can all forget about and move on to other things. But it is pleasing to see. It is worth noting the more widespread general political consensus for openness and disclosure of political donations. There is always room for improvement, and we will certainly continue to put forward suggestions for further improvement. But we are pleased that the government has accepted the overall thrust of the amendment that the Senate has put forward, and we will be supporting the minister's amendments on this occasion.