Banning political donations from third party interest groups: a summary of constitutional issues

This paper canvasses opinions and issues arising from the proposed ban on political donations from third party interest groups in the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Amendment Bill 2011, currently before the NSW Parliament, with particular reference to the implied freedom of political communication under the Commonwealth Constitution. One point to make is that significant issues of interpretation remain to be clarified in respect to the implied freedom. A second point is that these issues can only be resolved by the High Court. Note that this paper is to be read in conjunction with e-brief 2/2012, "Proposed changes relating to the caps on electoral expenditure by political parties: a summary of constitutional issues"