George Monbiot, British journalist and activist, advocated recently for fundamental reform to political donations in Britain (“Death of the Noble Idea“, The Guardian 5/2/2008). The political malaise which Monbiot touches upon is also present within Australia; political parties are desperately reliant on corporate donations. In fact, recent figures published by the Australian Electoral Commission indicate that the ALP received $14.9million in donations for the 2006/07 financial year.
It is not surprising that New Labor and the ALP share such an unhealthy reliance on the corporate dollar. After all, it was the breakthrough centrist Hawke/Keating governments which served to inspire Blair’s New Labor Project. In fact, George Monbiot’s account of New Labor Minister, and former anti-apartheid activist Peter Hain receiving money from a major backer of the former South African apartheid regime echoes the sorry tale of former rocker and environmental activist Peter Garrett approving the Tamar Valley Pulp Mill. We should not blame either Peter, it seems the behaviour of each of them is indicative of a sick political system which turns committed activists into political sell-outs. Personally, I would hate to see what would happen to me if I had to be a parliamentarian within such a system. Peter Garrett is a highly intelligent man with strong political convictions, and his actions as Environment Minister should serve as a warning to us all about the political system we live in.
Fundamentally though this system of political funding is undemocratic, and therefore, anti-union. Why? Because under the present system capital buys political influence and the power of the managerial class is based on the ability to utilise money. However, the ultimate source of union influence and power is people power. Unions are a measure of how democratic any society. As a general rule, when trade unions are under attack then democracy at large is also under siege. I believe that it is no coincidence that the decline in union numbers and density over the last couple of decades has coincided with a decline in overall political participation.
This tells us that aside from supporting the key union values of solidarity, democracy, prosperity for all and equality, there is a degree of strategic self-interest in the union movement making campaign finance reform a key political issue. One of the oldest pieces of military wisdom is that you fight your opponents on the territory which best suits your troops. Well fighting the establishment in a political arena where major political parties are reliant on obtaining the corporate dollar for ultimate success is similarly ludicrous if we can avoid it. If political parties need financial support from a large pool of people rather than a smaller cartel of large donations then the trade union movement will have achieved an important victory.
George Monbiot is right campaign finance reform is a matter which relates to the health of our democracy. With the Coalition currently smarting from being abandoned by the corporate dollar for the ALP, and with electoral laws and political party disclosure being on the parliamentary agenda this is an opportune time for the Australian union movement to place a cap of $1 000 donation any legal individual and related parties can donate to a political party in a given financial year. Where democracy flourishes so to do unions.
What do you think? Should campaign finance reform be made a union matter?
