UPDATE: WA’s Attorney General has defended the State Government’s exemption of property developers from new donation transparency laws, claiming we don’t have the “culture of corruption” present in the Eastern States.

Jamie Burnett questioned the efficacy of not including developers in the Cook Government’s wide-ranging electoral and campaign donation reforms on 6PR Mornings, given the strong interest the industry has in state politics.

But John Quigley KC denied an inherent need to target property developers, given there is already adequate measure in place.

“We’ve got the [Construction and Crime Commission] here… which is vigilant into looking at government interactions with property developers; there has not been demonstrated corruption in that area,” Mr Quigley said.

Press PLAY to hear more from John Quigley KC on electoral law reforms

Electoral reforms put forward by the Cook government would potentially double political party’s reimbursements from preference votes.

On the other hand, private donations will be much more transparent.

Press PLAY to hear more about the potentially game-changing reforms

University of Notre Dame Law and Politics Professor Martin Drum told Karl and Gena on 6PR Breakfast the proposed reforms are a double-edged sword.

“The reimbursements would obviously be a bad idea if we weren’t exchanging it for less private donations, or less secret donations,” Dr Drum said.

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