Ben was joined by Macquarie University’s Ben Spies-Butcher and the Guardian’s Gabrielle Chan to discuss the rural contest in the NSW state election and the impact of the recent High Court decision on election funding laws.
We discussed Gabi’s new book Rusted Off.
Thanks to 2SER radio in Sydney for the use of their studio.
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I wish you would publish a transcript. In rural area with no NBN and cannot download. Internet unbelievably slow. Would like to read this.
I would publish a transcript if I had a transcript.
Campaign spending caps were introduced by the last NSW Labor Government, not the Coalition as stated in this podcast.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/campaign-spending-caps-pass-nsw-parliament-20101111-17o2n.html
Michael,
The spending caps legislation was passed by NSW Parliament in May 2018.
The explanatory note for the Electoral Funding Bill 2018 can be found here:
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bill/files/3510/XN%20Electoral%20Funding%20Bill.pdf
Hope this helps.
Watson Watch,
The caps were introduced in 2010 by the last NSW Government. The 2018 legislation amended some of the details.
This article, and the SMH one I posted earlier, provide contemporary reports of the introduction of caps: https://www.accountabilityrt.org/nsw-political-donations-reform-keneally-caps-donations/
Hope this helps you understand the history of the issue.
The role of country seats in this election is fascinating. The pendulum suggests that to win this election Labor will have to win a bunch of regional seats, most of which they’ve rarely – if ever – held: Monaro, Tweed, Lismore, Upper Hunter, Goulburn, perhaps even Bega and Myall Lakes.
Such a feat would be reminiscent of Steve Bracks’s upset win in 1999 where Labor failed to make inroads in suburbia but won plenty outside of Melbourne. With so many Sydney seats on daunting margins, the Bracks template may offer Labor a path to victory.
Bracks of course also depended on the support of rural independents in otherwise safe conservative seats. A factor likely to be important here too.
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