The architect of the biggest censorship of political “donations” data in the nation’s history has been “unable” to answer key questions about his own legislation.
That’s despite Special Minister of State Don Farrell’s electoral reforms being rammed through parliament two weeks ago by the ALP and Coalition, despite fierce objections.
Farrell and the Australian Electoral Commission have been grilled in Senate Estimates over exposes by The Klaxon detailing the mass censorship of pollical “donations” data.
“There was an article published in The Klaxon…which catalogues in some detail the change in what’s disclosed in the transparency register,” Greens Senator Larissa Waters told Senate Estimates.
“The article contends that the AEC has pulled tens of thousands of donor returns from its transparency portal”.
AEC Commissioner Jeff Pope and Assistant Commissioner Joanne Reid confirmed the “tens of thousands” of disclosure returns had been pulled from public access.
Yet when asked what the “policy reason” was for such a “broad reaching redaction”, Farrell was unable to say.
“I’d have to take that question on notice Senator,” replied Farrell.
“There was an article published in The Klaxon…which catalogues in some detail the change in what’s disclosed in the transparency register” — Senator Waters
Farrell’s “inability” to explain is particularly remarkable — because it was Farrell himself, or someone in his office, that laid the groundwork for the mass censorship almost a year ago.
Adding to serious concerns unlike the increased disclosure requirements, which will not take effect until “mid-2026”, that mass censorship became effective immediately, when the law passed two weeks ago.
Farrell is questioned by Waters over The Klaxon’s expose. Source: Australian Senate
After winning power in 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appointed Farrell — who as Special Minister of State oversees the AEC — to implement the “biggest overhaul in 40 years” to electoral finance laws.
Nicknamed Labor’s “Godfather”, Farrell — who says he spent “the last three years” creating the new laws — is also the minister for trade and tourism and the Government’s deputy leader in the Senate.
The overhaul, which Albanese claimed was to “get big money out of politics”, has rigged “donations” laws heavily in favour of the ALP and Coalition, hogtying independents.
Further, it has seen the biggest censorship to donor information in the nation’s history.
DONATIONS STITCH-UP – more from The Klaxon:
Feb 11 – “Godfather” tied to AEC mass censorship
Feb 6 – “Snouts in the Trough” – Senators oppose “Electoral Reforms” Bill
Feb 4 – PM in secretive push for mass “donations” censorship
Feb 2 – Vast censorship of political “donations” data
Jan 30 – Labor Party rigs “donations” laws
The ALP and Coalition rammed the Bill into law two weeks ago, having blocked attempts to have it reviewed by a parliamentary committee, which is standard practice.
As The Klaxon exposed in detail before the laws passed, the changes mean vast amounts of donor data, which had been public for decades, is now hidden, including provided “address” data.
The data is vital in determining the true source of many “donations”, especially where payments are made via shell companies and obscure PO Box addresses.
Now only a subset of data from the returns, that the AEC has scraped from the original documents, is available.
While Farrell has been “unable” to explain the reasons for the mass censorship, investigations show his office — while Farrell was writing the sweeping new laws — that led to the changes.
In May last year the AEC pulled its entire political financing “Transparency Portal”, including the tens of thousands of disclosure returns, citing an “error” from years earlier.
Two months later it restored the register, but without the tens of thousands of disclosure returns — despite the AEC being required to publish the documents under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.
On a case-by-case basis the AEC provided media with returns, but only after it had heavily redacted them, in a process inexplicably taking it as long as three weeks.
Changes deep inside Farrell’s highly-complex, 227-page Electoral Reforms Bill, have reversed that law.
Effective immediately and retrospectively, all returns are hidden from the public for good.
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How The Klaxon broke the story. Source: The Klaxon
AEC “discovers” error…via Farrell
An error by the AEC in 2019 had resulted in postal address details for 17 electoral candidates “publicly viewed”, despite those candidates being “silent” from the electoral roll.
It resulted in no “personal safety incidents” and did not even rise to the level of being a “notifiable breach” — yet the Albanese Government has used that five-year-old AEC error as the justification for its mass censorship.
On May 15 last year the AEC issued a statement that it “became aware” of an error. Almost immediately it commissioned an “external review”.
In its first sentence, that review states the “AEC discovered” the breach.
In fact, deep inside the document, on page 26, it is revealed that it was “through a call” from Farrell’s office.
“The AEC became aware there was an apparent data breach at 0900
hours on 15 May 2024 through a call from the office of the Special Minister
of State, the Hon Don Farrell MP,” it states on page 26.
“The AEC became aware…through a call from the office of the Special Minister of State, the Hon Don Farrell MP” — AEC “External Review”
It states that an unnamed “parliamentarian” had “notified” Farrell’s office that “their residential address was displayed on the Register”.
How The Klaxon broke the story last month. Source: The Klaxon
The review — whose author is identified only as “external reviewer Tony Sheehan” — made a series of reasonable recommendations, including that the AEC “audit those of its systems which do not automatically suppress silent elector addresses”.
Yet it also made some extreme recommendations — which it provided no evidence to support — which the AEC and Farrell then implemented in full.
That’s despite Sheehan, the AEC — or anyone else — conducting any public consultation.
The ALP rammed Farrell’s Electoral Reform Bill through the lower house late last year, just 48 hours after making it public.
Then, two weeks ago, on the eve of the last day of the Senate sitting, the ALP and Coalition rammed the laws through the senate.
That was despite fierce opposition of experts, including Transparency International and the Centre for Public Integrity, and from independents and minor parties.
The changes to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, hiding all returns from the public. Source: Page 157, Electoral Reform Bill
There any multiple types of disclosure documents filed with the AEC, including candidate returns (returns from electoral candidates), donor returns (returns from donors) and amended returns (correcting “errors” that have been submitted in earlier returns).
The issue only related to a small amount of information on a handful of candidate returns, yet all returns of all types have now been hidden.
At the Senate Estimates Finance & Public Administration Legislation Committee last week, AEC Commissioner Pope was asked why the AEC had undertaken the “overcautious approach”.
The AEC had “a very unfortunate discovery of a privacy breach which we took very seriously”, he responded.
Pope made no mention of the involvement of Farrell — who was sitting beside him.
Farrell is responsible for overseeing the AEC.
The revelations have attracted fierce public backlash. Source: Twitter/X
Pope said some electoral candidates who had filed candidate returns had later become “silent” from the electoral roll, but that the AEC had failed to then go back and supress their address details.
He said this change of status “has not been able to flow through our transparency register”.
He said this was because of the “age of the system and also the retrospective nature”.
“There was tens of thousands of pdf documents sitting in the transparency register,” Pope said.
“We had this IT challenge and privacy challenge with respect to trying to actually tidy that up.”
Pope provided no explanation as to why the AEC didn’t simply go back and redact address details for people who later became silent electors, allowing for the continued publication of the pdf disclosure documents.
Or, why the AEC didn’t continue to publish the address details on its Transparency Portal, but with the silent addresses removed.
Instead, Pope pointed to the Sheehan “external review”.
Both Pope and Assistant Commissioner Reid then pointed to the fact it was now law — the law which Farrell created but, sitting next to them, was “unable” explain.
“(Sheehan) made a number of recommendations, one of which was to try and protect the privacy of individuals but also particularly the privacy and security of those that have got silent elector status was to remove addresses from the information that we publish,” Pope said.
“And that was codified in the technical amendments that were passed by parliament and went to executive counsel last week”.
Waters said there was “obviously” no problem with redacting addresses of silent electors, “but the (Klaxon) article seems to imply that every single donor disclosure form” has been removed.
“If you’re a company and therefore don’t have a home address as such, you’re clearly not an elector,” Waters said.
“This article is saying it’s actually a very broad-reaching redaction. Is that correct or not?.
Pope confirmed it was not just silent electors and that all address information was now hidden.
“Even if it’s a PO box of a company?” asked Waters.
“Yes,” said Pope.
“I think – the easiest way for us to manage this is actually not to have an address field on the transparency register,” Pope said.
“Is that because it’s technologically easier for you to manage? Why do you say it’s the easiest way for you to manage?” asked Waters.
“Well, I just think it’s – for all donors and, I’m happy for you to correct me here?” Pope said, deferring to Reid.
AEC Assistant Commissioner Joanne Reid fronts Senate Estimates. Source: Australian Senate
Reid failed to provide any reasons for the mass censorship – instead also pointing to the fact it was now law.
“The recent legislation passed by the parliament means that the AEC is not required to publish any addresses, any addresses,” she said.
“And that came into effect immediately on royal assent.
“Most of those reforms don’t come into effect for some time but that came into effect immediately.
“Most of those reforms don’t come into effect for some time but that came into effect immediately” — Joanne Reid
“So the AEC is now no longer required and our understanding is that does have retrospective effect. So, no returns, those pdf forms will be published.”
Waters then turned to Farrell.
“Minister, can you perhaps run through why – what the policy reason was for redacting absolutely every donor’s address even when they’re a corporate or an organisation?”
He responded: “I’d have to take that question on notice, Senator.”
“Okay…” responded Waters, apparently taken aback.
Pope then jumped back in.
“I think we just did, I think, Senator, from our perspective, we just didn’t discriminate. It was just no addresses.”
“I’m not sure that it actually leaves a really big gaping hole in terms of transparency and people understanding who has provided the donation,” said Pope.
Yet as previously reported, information that is now being hidden is vital in determining the true identity of many “donors”.
The now hidden electoral donations data was vital in establishing the true donors behind the Voice “No” campaign. Source: The Klaxon
It was vital in showing the 2022-23 bankrollers of “Advance” — which ran the “No” campaign against the Indigenous Voice to parliament — boiled down to just ten mega-millionaire entities.
Just months after those revelations Farrell’s office rang the AEC, putting in train the mass censorship.
The New York Times has described Australia as potentially “the world’s most secretive democracy”.
Between 2012 and 2022 no other OECD country fell faster towards corruption than Australia, according to Transparency International.
Waters concluded the Senate Estimates discussion.
“I’ll think on that and may come back in future,” she said.
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