In short:
Tasmanian Labor wants to bring in spending caps for state elections.
asserted
Labor → want → elections
Parties could spend up to $50,000 per candidate, and independents up to $60,000.
uncertain
Parties → spend → candidate
Tasmania's upper house and local government elections already have spending limits.
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house → have → limits
Labor will table a bill in parliament this week, and hopes to debate it in the lower house by the end of the year.
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Labor → table → year
Tasmania's Labor opposition is seeking to bring in expenditure caps for state elections for the first time, with leader Josh Willie calling the reforms a "guardrail" against "corporate capture".
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Willie → seek → capture
The party will table a private members' bill in parliament this week that would cap how much a party can spend in any election campaign at $50,000 per candidate.
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party → table → candidate
That would limit a party with 35 candidates (seven in each of Tasmania's five lower house seats) to spend $1.75 million.
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That → limit → million
Under the law, independents would be allowed to spend $60,000, given they don't have a central campaign.
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they → allow → campaign
Third party campaigners and associated entities would be limited to $75,000.
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campaigners → associate → 75,000
"What this reform will do is make sure that politics is a contest of ideas, not a contest on who has the biggest bank balance," said Mr Willie.
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Willie → make → balance
"Nobody should be able to buy an election, and without guardrails in place, Tasmania is exposed."
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Tasmania → buy → place
He said the reform would create a "level playing field" for new entrants and political parties.
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reform → say → entrants
Shadow Attorney-General Ella Haddad said "the last thing people wanted to see" was big money flowing into election campaigns.
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money → say → campaigns
"People can come in and drown out everybody else's voice through buying up all of the advertising space available on TV or putting more money into social media advertising," she said.
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she → come → advertising
The opposition plans to debate the bill in the lower house before the end of the year.
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opposition → plan → year
It has briefed the crossbench in recent weeks, but Mr Willie said he expected the Liberal government and One Nation to oppose the bill.
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government → brief → bill
Limits already in place for some Australian elections
Tasmania's upper house and local government elections already have spending limits.
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house → have → limits
South Australia has gone so far as to ban political donations.
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Australia → go → donations
Labor's proposed cap would include advertising costs, posts and flyers, consultant and agency fees, opinion polling and research, and any gifts in kind.
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cap → propose → kind
Administration and operating expenses, including staff, would not count.
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expenses → include → staff
The amounts would be indexed in line with inflation, and any party's spending in one particular electorate would also be limited.
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spending → index → electorate
The maximum spend would apply from nine months out from an election, or if an early election is called, the day parliament is dissolved.
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parliament → apply → election
A financial penalty for exceeding the cap would be set at twice the amount a party or candidate overspent.
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party → exceed → amount
The law would establish a criminal offence for intentionally circumventing the rules, with potential punishments including fines and jail terms.
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law → establish → fines
Campaign spend
Last year, Tasmania lowered the political donation disclosure threshold to $1,000, meaning parties and candidates had to disclose the source of any donation above that.
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parties → lower → that
The new rules also required parties and candidates to report campaign spending to the Tasmanian Electoral Commission for the first time in 2025.
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rules → require → 2025
Disclosures provided to the TEC show Labor spent the most from July 1 onwards, with a total declared spend of $1.73 million.
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Labor → provide → million
The Liberals declared $1.13 million in campaign spending, and the Greens $375,000.
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Greens → declare → spending
Among independents, Franklin MPs Peter George and David O'Byrne led with around $106,000 and $79,000, respectively.
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George → lead → 106,000
Kristie Johnston meanwhile spent around $21,000, and George Razay less than $15,000.
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Razay → spend → 21,000
The 2025 state election occurred just 15 months after the previous one, and is understood to have seen lower spending levels across the board.
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election → occur → board
The University of Tasmania's Professor Richard Eccleston said spending caps could help curb big money's influence on politics.
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caps → say → politics
"I think voters in Tasmania, nationally, and beyond, are concerned about the influence of money and wealthy actors on politics," he said.
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he → think → politics
He said the limits proposed by Labor were "broadly similar" to those in other jurisdictions like the ACT, which also has Hare-Clark multi-member electorates.
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which → say → electorates
Prof. Eccleston also backed capping the amount that third parties could spend, particularly if candidates' own spending was capped.
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spending → back → that
"The idea that companies and other organisations won't run campaigns to try to influence elections — I mean, it's naive to think that they that they wouldn't."
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they → run → elections
At the 2018 state election, the Tasmanian Hospitality Association (now Hospitality Tasmania) railed against Labor's policy to take poker machines out of pubs and clubs.
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Association → rail → pubs
At the time, it was rumoured that $5 million was spent on the Love Your Local campaign, though the organisation denied that figure.
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organisation → rumour → figure
Geoffrey Watson, of the Centre for Public Integrity, said spending caps were "a step towards the right direction".
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caps → say → direction
However, he has warned spending caps could "greatly favour" incumbents.
uncertain
caps → warn → incumbents
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia