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The AEC’s annual data dump on political donations gives voters a lot of information, but there’s also a lot it doesn’t tell voters.
It’s ostensibly a nod to political transparency and probity in federal politics, but experts in governance and law have long said serious shortcomings attend the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) data published annually under federal donations laws.
“Every year, there are large pools of money, the origin of which is not identified,” said Bill Browne, the director of democracy and accountability with the Australia Institute.
“It could be perfectly innocuous — many small donors, for instance — but the lack of transparency means we can’t answer questions about whether there is some deeper problem going on with these funds.”
Read more about what’s missing from the AEC’s data on political donations.
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