There is no institution more important in our society than Parliament.
That's where laws and regulations are made that affect our day-to-day lives.
For that reason, we need to know exactly by whom our politicians are influenced, and how much their promises really cost.
Parliamentary Budget Office
A Parliamentary Budget Office ("PBO") would provide an independent check-and-balance on spending promises made by politicians.
Time and time again, Western Australians have demonstrated that they care most about cost-of-living issues.
The way that a PBO works is simple:
- Every registered and parliamentary political party would be required to submit for costings their policies before an election;
- The PBO would independently analyse those policies and produce a report estimating how much they cost to deliver; and
- The people would receive this information before they go to vote, and thus exercise a more informed decision.
Lobbyists and donations
It's a sad reality that the majority of Western Australians don't follow politics on a day-to-day basis.
But there are a group of people in our society who do: political lobbyists.
That's why we need to:
- Create a 18-month "cooling-off period" for any MP or staffer thinking about going into lobbying;
- Publish in real-time the diaries of government ministers so that the people know who is connecting with who; and
- Cap political donations at a maximum of $1,000 and publish them in real-time as well.
Indigenous gag clauses
Now more than ever, we need to know what our indigenous people have to say: particularly, around issues of mining and development.
Unfortunately, "gag clauses" prevent indigenous people from publicly speaking about threats to heritage sites.
For that reason, we need to:
- Prevent mining companies from inserting "gag clauses" into their land-use agreements with traditional owners.
- Remove existing gag clauses from land-use agreements, such as the one affecting the Burrup Peninsula; and
- Give indigenous people the right to free and prior informed consent.