A MOTION calling for stricter regulations on election donations in local government elections was rejected at the 2 December council meeting.
The motion was presented by Cr David Gill and sought to advocate a series of reforms to the state government. These included restricting campaign donations to individuals listed on the local electoral roll, immediate disclosure of all donations on the Victorian Electoral Commission website, banning donations within two weeks of election day, and requesting state authorities investigate to ensure no donations are made after an election.
“We need to ensure that companies are not set up to hide donors or enable candidates to hide where donations come from now. That’s not to say that people deliberately do it, but that could be an outcome,” Gill said.
He said the motion was “in the public interest” and that large donations risk undermining trust in elections.
“This is only for state government consideration to provide fair and transparent elections to help with voter knowledge, transparency and that comes into accountability and that’s what we all should be aiming at,” Gill said.
Councillor Max Patton said he would be supporting the motion as he felt it would give candidates without significant financial backing a fairer opportunity to compete in local elections.
“When we consider what makes a democratic council or a democratic election it’s one that’s been reached fairly and in the age of social media advertising, I think the dollar can go a long way in reaching greater audiences and can help people win elections,” Patton said.
Patton said the technology to support the motion and publish donations immediately already exists and has been used in federal campaigns, so he believes it should be implemented for local elections as well.
Deputy Mayor Paul Pingiaro said they “need to be careful [they] don’t rush into something that creates new problems while trying to solve another”.
He said it doesn’t seem fair to only allow donors from the local electoral roll.
“What if a candidate’s main support network, their family or long-term friends live in Frankston?” Pingiaro said. “Under this idea, ‘sorry, you’re not local enough to donate’.”
He said current candidates already have to declare any donations above the threshold and lodge returns after an election.
“These ideas aren’t necessarily bad, but they belong in state legislation not one-off motions,” Pingiaro said.
“Our role is to follow fair rules that don’t discriminate based on where your support base lives, rules that still allow ordinary people with modest means to run for council and be supported by their community, not rules that accidentally lock them up.”
Gill said they are only asking the state government to review rules because elections are not transparent but should be.
“What I’m trying to do is get the state government to look at the issues, that’s all,” Gill said.
“We should be making them aware, and we should be saying the public don’t like the donation rules the way that they’re set out now.”
Councillors were split when voting on the motion, but Pingiaro had the deciding vote. He said he would not be supporting the motion because of the “geographical fencing on it”.
First published in the Mornington News – 9 December 2025