Researchers looked at a decade of political spending by the oil and gas industry and others engaged in climate policy. If money talks, one side had a giant megaphone.
When people work together, they can move governments to action. Just ask the suffragettes. Still, few people do it. A psychologist explains why, and how to turn that around.
From Alaska to Alabama, corporations spend money to shape their local business environments, resources and regulations.
Douglas Rissing/ iStock / Getty Images Plus
Businesses can spend huge amounts of money to influence Congress. But sizable lobbyist and campaign donations also go to state campaigns and lawmakers to influence policymaking.
The oilsands have driven Alberta’s economy and finances for the past two decades.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Four companies contribute about 20 per cent of Alberta’s total revenue, giving them an enormous amount of control over the province’s finances and, by extension, politics.
Unaccompanied immigrant minors wait on July 2, 2019 in Los Ebanos, Texas to be transported to a U.S. Border Patrol processing center after entering the U.S. to seek political asylum.
John Moore/Getty Images
Immigration judges must base their decisions to grant asylum to immigrant children on whether these children have realistic fears of persecution. But other factors influence those decisions.
Some 44,000 people – about one-hundredth of 1% of the US population – have given $10,000 or more each to this election. So much money from so few donors inevitably distorts the political process.
Australian tabloid newspapers were once an important political force, the “voice of the people”. But these days relevance has been replaced by shrillness.
Released political donations data found nearly 90% of declared donations to the Tassie Liberals were from gambling groups.
Paul Jeffers/AAP
Today the Commonwealth has released data on political donations. It shows high levels of donations from the gambling industry to political parties.
Transparency isn’t a silver bullet, but increasing it would go some way to changing the secrecy around who has access – and how much – to the government of the day.
AAP/Lukas Coch
A new report from Grattan Institute argues the secrecy and inequality surrounding who has “say” and “sway” in Canberra can be remedied – if politicians can just find the will to do it.
The states have pulled far ahead of the Commonwealth on improving transparency around political donations.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
While the states are making improvements to their political donations laws and practices, Canberra still has a long way to go.
Porter wants the foreign agent register bill and the foreign interference bill passed before the Super Saturday of byelections in late July.
Paul Miller/AAP