It's safe to say that the last few weeks have been rather hectic. Australia has been closely watching elections in Queensland and in the US, there's been the AFL and NRL Grand Finals and a raft of other things that have taken our attention.
So, it's not entirely surprising that a small change to federal legislation went unnoticed by many.
The Conversation has revealed the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2020 passed through both Houses last week with cross-party support.
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It allows property developers and other people banned from making donations under state laws to give over cash and the kicker is: the recipient doesn't have to declare it.
The federal government introduced a similar law in 2018, however it was shut down by the High Court.
That law said property developers could ignore state laws which stopped them from making general donations to the political party of their choosing as long as the funds were being used for federal campaigns. The High Court said there was no oversight in what the funds might be used for and therefore knocked down the law.
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Interestingly, Queensland introduced a rule based off a recommendation from the state's Crime and Corruption Commission that stopped property developers from making donations to political parties. The High Court upheld the rule last year after a challenge was launched.
The reason why the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2020 was brought in was to get around these new clauses. Associate Professor of Constitutional Law at Monash University, , says the law now allows people to make a donation as long as the money is then used 'for federal purposes'.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the laws will allow for better clarity around the federal and state electoral laws.
He added: :The revised provisions ensure that federal law only applies exclusively to donations that are expressly for federal purposes, while fully respecting the application of state laws to amounts used for state purposes."
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Labor's Don Farrell told the Senate: "It's not Labor's intention in any way to weaken any of those provisions already in place in the states, but the Commonwealth parliament should be able to make laws with respect to Commonwealth elections, and those laws should not be overridden by the states."
The bill has come under attack by some politicians who have accused it of being as legal way to do 'money laundering'.
MP Andrew Wilkie wrote on Twitter last week: "The Govt & Oppn shamefully voted to allow federal political parties to accept donations from donors banned by state & territory govts. They can use the money, or pass to their state branch which is brazen money laundering."
It's unclear whether the bill will be subject to a legal challenge in any of Australia's courts, however it's likely that the public will be concerned.
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