Senator the Hon Don Farrell

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE, DON FARRELL: Good morning everyone, thank you for coming along to my office here in Adelaide today. I'm here to talk about the Electoral Reform legislation which the Albanese Government is introducing into Parliament next Monday. Australia's political system is strong, but it can and should be stronger. Since 2016, I have advocated and campaigned for changes to our electoral system to tackle the issues that threaten our democracy. In coming to government, I referred these issues to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters for consideration and a report. I've always believed that electoral reform is best when it's supported by the whole Parliament and undertaken in a bipartisan and considered way.

After two years of committee inquiries, reports, recommendation, detailed drafting, consideration and most importantly, consultation, Labor will be introducing a Bill into the Parliament next Monday to tackle the issues of big money in our elections. Labor's reforms will cap campaign spending, restrict big donors and stop the arms race of donation drives and endless fundraising.

Politicians, parties and candidates will be restricted on how much they can receive from any individual per year. Big donors will be restricted on how much they can donate and all participants in the elections will be limited on how much they can spend on advertising and campaigning. We are increasing transparency with accelerated reporting of donations, realtime reporting during elections, and a lower donation disclosure threshold to shine a spotlight on more of the money in politics. The independent watchdog, the Australian Electoral Commission will be given strength and powers to apply compliance audits and penalties. We know that this reform will face some challenges, but of course, if it was easy, somebody else would have done it already. We're not shying away from the chance to protect our democracy and I'm asking all of my colleagues across the Parliament to support this passage in coming weeks. Thank you.

JOURNALIST: Are your laws designed to target Simon Holmes á Court and Clive Palmer and will they result in less crossbench MPs and more major party people in Parliament?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: The short answer is no. This is designed to take big money out of Australian politics. We're not targeting individuals, we're targeting the system that allows an uncapped amount of money to be spent on elections. We don't want to go down the track of the American election system. We want to cap the amount of money people can spend and that applies to anybody.

JOURNALIST: Some crossbench MPs are already calling these changes a 'major party stitch-up'. Will the changes entrench the power of the two major parties in Parliament?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: What these changes will do is take big money out of Australian politics. It will strengthen our democracy. The Westminster system has served Australia federally very well for the last 125 years. I want it to continue to work in the interests of Australians, and I think by taking big money out of politics, that's the best way we can improve our politics and our democracy in Australia.

JOURNALIST: How open are you to negotiations with both the Coalition and crossbench? Would you be open to lifting the donations disclosure cap?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: No. This is the donation cap that we have set that we think best balances all of the interests of all of the parties and independents. We've set it at a rate which I think is fair, it's reasonable. But more importantly, we have to consider that already some of the players have indicated they're going to take this matter to the High Court, that we meet all of the requirements of the freedom - speech legislations or issues in the High Court. So, we're trying to ensure that the caps that we've set are fair but also would survive a challenge in the High Court.

JOURNALIST: Wouldn't the caps, though, be - wouldn't they hurt independents to play on the same level playing field as the major parties, though?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: No, it's exactly the opposite. What these caps do is ensure that even independents can't be outspent in an election setting.

JOURNALIST: Why do these changes need to be rushed through Parliament before Christmas and would you be happy to push them into the next term of Parliament?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: These are not rushed. We've been talking about this for the last two years. None of what's in this Bill comes as any surprise to anybody who's been paying attention to this issue. We haven't rushed it. In fact, we've done the opposite. We've taken our time to carefully consider and carefully consult with all of the political parties about these changes. I want these changes. There's a lot of them. This is a very big Bill. We need to get this through this year so that the AEC and the political parties, and the independents can start the process so that by the time the next election comes, everybody is in the position they ought to be to implement these changes.

JOURNALIST: Has the Coalition agreed to this? And if not, what are the sticking points?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: We've had good consultation with the Coalition. I can't say at this stage - and I might say we've had discussions with all of the other parties as well. I can't say at this stage we've got an agreement. But I'm hoping that by the time the legislation comes up for vote, then we can get as maximum support as we possibly can. Already some of the independents have indicated they are onside with the changes.

JOURNALIST: What will Bill like this mean for unions and union fees, specifically?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: Unions will be subject to the same rules as everybody else. They'll be subject to the same caps and levels of donations, affiliation fees and membership fees will continue as they are at the moment.

JOURNALIST: Minister, why should it be up to the major parties to decide who can get into Parliament?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: The Australian people make that decision and they have always made that decision. What this does is ensure that ordinary Australians can participate. This is all about making sure that ordinary Australians can participate. The Australian electoral system should not work on the basis that the only people that can get elected to Parliament are people that are sponsored by billionaires. That shouldn't be the way that the Australian system works. And with these changes, it won't be the way the system works.

JOURNALIST: Just to the US, how confident are you that Australia can cut a deal with the new Trump administration to avoid any blanket tariffs on imports into America?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: Well, when I came into this job two and a half years ago, we had $20 billion worth of trade impediments imposed on us from China. Over that two and a half years, we've worked patiently and carefully to get all of those removed. I think the Albanese Government has got a track record of working with our trading partners to ensure that fair and free trade continues. And I would be confident that we will - I mean, the first thing here is not to panic or overreact. The American people have made a decision about who their new President is going to be, and who the administration is going to be. We need to be just like we were with China. And sit down patiently and carefully, and work through any of the issues which the American Government might have.

JOURNALIST: Is Kevin Rudd the best person to be negotiating those trade deals, given his commentary on Donald Trump in the past?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: Yes.

JOURNALIST: Why's that?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: Look, Kevin Rudd is an experienced diplomat. He's made great progress with the American Congress. And remember this, that in the new administration, the Republicans control both the lower house and the Senate. Kevin has made great progress with the Congress. The AUKUS legislation which was so vital to the building of the submarines here in Adelaide, Kevin was instrumental in that. And I believe he's the best man to represent Australian interests in the United States.

JOURNALIST: And that's despite his comments towards Trump. Obviously, they're so negative and Trump has already been on the record in saying he won't be there long if that's the case.

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: Look, incoming President Trump has shown a great propensity to forgive comments that people may have made about him in the past. He's done that with his Vice President, so I wouldn't be too worried about prior comments. I think Kevin has done a really good job for Australia in the issues that he's dealt with in the American system, and I think he'll continue to do that.

JOURNALIST: How's his golf going?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: You'd have to ask him. I'm not a golfer myself. I can ask my friend from Sweden here. He perhaps knows.

JOURNALIST: Can I ask you about pandas as well?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: Sure.

JOURNALIST: Did you have a chance to speak to the Chinese Ambassador while he was in town? Are you aware of any delays in bringing the new pandas to Australia? Is everything running smoothly there?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: I think it is. I haven't spoken to the Ambassador since he came to Adelaide. I was in China myself last week and I was talking to my counterpart, the Chinese Trade Minister, and he was very, very positive about the pandas coming to Adelaide. In fact, he gave me a pen with a panda on it. So, no, things are going very well for the pandas to come to Adelaide. I'm sure there's not going to be any problems or any delays.

JOURNALIST: And how - and how important is this panda diplomacy? Sort of the back channel stuff you do to maintain that relationship?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: Look, every little bit helps. China is our largest trading partner. Last year we had a record trade with them - $327 billion. So, they're most important to the Australian economy. The surplus in Australia's favour is over $100 billion. So, it's important that we have a strong, stable relationship with China, as it is with all other countries, but particularly China, because of the size of the trading relationship. Everything I can do, including bringing the Trade Minister to South Australia to see all of the wonderful things that we have to offer here, everything I can do, and everything the government can do, helps protect and build that peaceful, stable region and the opportunity for free trade.

JOURNALIST: Do you have any clue as to whether the new pandas might be a better coupling than the previous pandas?

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: No. We'll have to ask the head of the zoo about all of those things, I think. All right. Thank you very much. Thanks for coming along, much appreciated.