The outright deceit by Labor's Senator Sam Dastyari about political donations and the attempted cover-up by him is one thing; the sanctimonious, almost pious, bleating of his indiscretions by Liberals when they themselves are up to their ears in similar behaviour, reeks of the fact that the two parties are failing Australians at a rapid rate.
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For instance, Senator Cory Bernardi, as Fairfax Media wrote, " ... who led the charge against Dastyari, is himself involved with a fundraising entity that inhabits a grey area in the political donations system and permits gifts from overseas donors".
Further, ICAC's findings into banned donations from developers to NSW Liberal Party figures and campaigns brought down in August, named eight Liberal MPs who it found acted with the intention of evading election funding laws, which govern public disclosures and bans on donations from developers.
It also recommended the DPP should consider charges against former ministers Chris Hartcher (Liberal) and Joe Tripodi (Labor). The political sleaze knows no bounds or parties, it seems.
Since these events, and others too numerous to mention on both sides of the ALP-Liberal fences, there has been a flurry of suggestions from their MPs and party advisers all seeking to want political funding overhaul.
Even the PM, Malcolm Turnbull, was in the act, quoted in an ABC television news caption saying he was "open to (changes in) political donation rules"; not long after making a personal $1m donation towards the party's last election funds.
Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, said his party wanted to ban overseas donations. The real question is: Why would they (or any other party) want them in the first instance?
The Libs sent former state party treasurer, Michael Yabsley, in to bat on September 7, noticeably after the Dastyari farce, suggesting a "radical" overhaul of political donations and election funding including a cap of $500 a person per election cycle to each level of government. The voter pays again?
However, Yabsley, did put forward what many have already demanded – the abolition of public funding of political parties; a ban on companies, unions and associations making donations; and restricting donations to individuals.
The column would go one step further; ban all media election advertising and all individual donations should be made public, not just those in excess of $13,200 as the case is currently.
For parties that, using some media outlets as puppets, are only too happy to tell their electorates how expert they would be in running the country economically, they have a lousy track record of looking after their own affairs.
Labor's record in this regard is blotted by union officials helping themselves while in August the ABC revealed the two multi-million loans taken out by the NSW division of the Liberal Party as it struggled with its "deep financial problems", including an $800,000 bill to run the by-election for Joe Hockey, who was a failed Federal treasurer.
Then there are the September farces in Federal Parliament – when government ministers left the House early resulting in the government minus a majority and unable to adjourn debate and the Senate unable to operate because the government had no bills ready. That prompted SMH chief political reporter, James Massola, to write: The Turnbull government needs to wake up to itself, fast. That just about says it all, really.
