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Don Farrell defends electoral donations laws

On to electoral donations – which Farrell is also in charge of – he’s asked about criticisms from the independents that the legislation disadvantages new contenders, and entrenches the two-party system.

We’re actually reducing the amount of money that the major political parties can spend on an election, and that is to the benefit of all candidates. And can I say this Sally, we’ve kept the amount of money you can spend on a single electorate at $800,000. If you can’t pick your message out to the Australian people with a spend of $800,000 [then] there’s something wrong with your campaign.

What I’m aware of is what we’ve been doing over the last three years, and I think we have been complying with all of the arrangements that were in place and the appropriate arrangements that were in place to ensure that we continue to supply high-quality Australian-made aluminium into the American market.