00:00Well, the idea of these laws, Jo, is that they are meant to limit how much donors can
00:06spend on elections to try and stop people like Clive Palmer, for example, spending tens
00:12of millions on the election.
00:14But it's also meant to stop or limit how much each candidate spends in their own seat.
00:19Now, the details of these laws that have passed are that the maximum amount an individual
00:25donor can donate to a candidate or a party is $50,000.
00:30That doesn't include state and territory branches, though, so if you're a major party like the
00:35Liberal or the Labor Party, you're able to receive through your branch about $450,000.
00:40That's the cap there.
00:42There's also a cap for each candidate, so an $800,000 cap for each candidate to spend
00:49during their campaign.
00:50Now, that might seem like quite a lot, but it's actually a lot less than what some of
00:54the Teal Independents, for example, spent in their last election.
00:59And the reason that they don't like these laws is, firstly, that they say they weren't
01:03consulted but, secondly, they say that they're at a disadvantage because they can spend $800,000
01:10and that's it, whereas a Labor candidate or a Liberal candidate can spend the same amount
01:16but also benefit from money that is spent through general Liberal Party signage or Labor
01:22Party signage.
01:24So they say that these laws have been stacked to benefit the major parties.
01:29We've heard from Helen Haynes, who's a member for Indi.
01:32She could be quite crucial in the hung parliament, if there is one, or a minority government.
01:38She says that she wants to see these laws looked at again.
01:42We've also heard from David Pocock, the Independent Senator today, who says that he would like
01:47to see these laws looked at again should it come to an ex-parliament.
01:52I've seen a stitch-up between the major parties on electoral reform late last night in the
01:56Senate.
01:57They want more money from taxpayers, they want to limit competition in elections, but
02:02they don't want to hold themselves to a higher standard and have truth in political advertising
02:06laws.
02:07They're very happy to shelve that part of the legislation.
02:10David Pocock there.
02:11And Isabel, what's happening on the childcare front?
02:14Yeah, so these are laws that have just passed parliament in the last hour or so.
02:20The government calls it the three-day guarantee, or one of their universal childcare bills.
02:25Basically this is a bill that gives guaranteed access to every family which earns less than
02:30$530,000, so most people.
02:35Those families are getting access to at least three days subsidised childcare a week.
02:41The way the government is doing this is by removing the activity test, and we've heard
02:47earlier from the Early Childhood Minister, Anne Ali, who explained this.
02:52What it basically does, Patricia, is it replaces the activity test, and parents out there who
02:58have tried to access subsidised care will know that they have to pass an activity test
03:03in order to be eligible to subsidise that care.
03:06It means that every child in Australia can now access those really transformative benefits
03:11of early childhood education and care, and it is good policy, it was recommended by the
03:14PC Review, a number of reviews, and has strong, strong support from across the sector.
03:23Anne Ali there, and that was going to be an election promise, actually, that Labor made.
03:27They ended up bringing forward the bill, rushing it through in what seems to be, the vibe is
03:33very much last day of school vibe, but seems to be the last sitting day of this parliamentary
03:39term potentially before an election is called.
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