Government strikes deal to ‘lock out’ Independents and secure major party control

In a shake-up to Australia’s electoral system, the Albanese Labor Government has cut a deal with the Coalition to push through the most sweeping changes in over 40 years. But rather than fostering democracy, this legislation cements the dominance of the two major parties at the expense of Independents and new challengers.

This political manoeuvre comes at a cost to taxpayers, who, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, will be forced to bankroll elections at nearly double the current rate – paying more while receiving fewer choices at the ballot box.

The Bill inflates public election funding, with taxpayer dollars per vote soaring from $2.91 to $5, burdening Australians with an additional $40 million in costs. Of this, an overwhelming 76% will funnel directly into the coffers of Labor and the Coalition.

Further stacking the deck, Labor has conceded to Coalition demands to hike the cap on individual donations from $20,000 to $50,000, while also raising the minimum donation disclosure threshold from $1,000 to $5,000. Meanwhile, total election spending caps remain unchanged at $800,000 per electorate, with registered parties able to splash up to $90 million nationally.

Independent MP for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, did not hold back, declaring, “I support electoral reform on a level playing field, but this is nothing more than a cynical power grab by the Canberra cartel. Instead of making politics fairer and more transparent, this bill cements the dominance of Labor and the Coalition while locking out Independents and everyday Australians from having a real say in their democracy.”

Critically, the Bill imposes harsh campaign spending caps on Independents while granting major parties the ability to exploit loopholes, ensuring they can outspend challengers in key battlegrounds. Under these changes, every cent an Independent spends on campaign materials – ads, posters, billboards – counts toward their cap. Yet, the major parties can flood electorates with branded billboards and campaign materials without it being included in their spending limits. The result? A system designed to entrench Labor and the Coalition’s financial and political stranglehold.

The timing of this political power play is no coincidence. With polling pointing to a likely minority government at the next election, both major parties are scrambling to secure their grip on Parliament before Independents gain further ground.

Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie unleashed a blistering attack on the changes, accusing Labor and the Coalition of shutting out “ordinary Aussies” like herself. Teal Independent MP for Curtin, Kate Chaney, echoed the outrage, calling the reforms a “major party stitch-up.”

“This will mean that taxpayers pay more for less choice. The major parties will get about two and a half times the public funding they got at the 2022 election by 2028, and it will be much harder for independents to challenge major parties,” Chaney said. “This changes who can get into parliament, and it has had no scrutiny. It has not gone to a parliamentary inquiry. The experts have not had a chance to really understand what impact this has.”

The move comes as the primary vote for major parties continues its decades-long decline across both federal and state elections. Tasmanian Independent MP for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, issued a stark warning, saying “The two-party system is dying, and they can do whatever they want, they can pull whatever stunt they want … but their vote will keep going down, and people like us will keep getting elected. And it will be the major party’s fault, and a stunt like this today will be in the mix when they look at the entrails when they work out why they failed.”

With the changes not taking effect until 2026, many are questioning the rush to ram them through. Daniel offered a blunt assessment, saying “If this was about fairer elections and the public interest, why the urgency when the changes won’t even apply until 2026? The answer is simple: this is about consolidating a cosy duopoly before more Independents can challenge the system.”

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