Mr NATHAN HAGARTY (Leppington) (16:02): I make a contribution to debate on the Electoral Funding Amendment Bill 2025, and what an important bill it is. It seeks to clarify the relationship between payments from the Administration Fund under part 5 of the Electoral Funding Act 2018 and members' additional entitlements under the Parliamentary Remuneration Act 1989. The bill addresses concerns raised by our good friends at the Electoral Commission that section 84 (1) (b) (ii) of the Electoral Funding Act in its current form creates undesirable administrative complexity in the claims assessment process and, in doing so, creates uncertainty for members about the management of their electoral funding obligations and entitlements. This Government seeks to get rid of undesirable administrative complexity. We were elected on a platform of doing away with undesirable administrative complexity, so I am glad that we are discussing this bill.

The amendments will provide certainty and clarity for the stakeholders of the fund, and the bill will ensure that the processes for making and determining claims are clear. As I said previously, the Administration Fund was established under part 5 of the Electoral Funding Act 2018 and is administered by the NSW Electoral Commission. The purpose of the fund is to reimburse eligible political parties and Independent MPs for administrative and operational expenditure incurred each quarter, up to a capped amount. For those in the gallery and watching at home, the cap is currently set at $70,700 a quarter. For elected Independent members, that quarterly amount is the actual administrative expenditure that they incur and claim during a quarter. It is paid in advance, and the unused portion or expenses incurred in excess of the cap can be carried forward to be used in a subsequent quarter in the same calendar year. In theory, a member could have funding of four times $70,700. I am not very good at maths, so I will leave it to those who are to work out what that sum is.

One issue raised about that amendment is that is it retrospective. The bill will apply from April 2023. In terms of administration that makes sense, because April 2023 was the first full quarter of this term of Parliament, but it does make it retrospective. I know that concerns have been raised by the Legislation Review Committee, and what a great committee it is. I am on that very important committee. Its function is to effectively assess bills to ensure that they do not trespass unduly on personal rights and liberties, inappropriately delegate legislative powers, or insufficiently subject the exercise of legislative power to parliamentary scrutiny.

I note that the digest in which the bill appears raised concerns about the retrospective nature of the bill, but members should not be concerned because those concerns have been addressed. The application of the bill is retrospective to enable Independent members and parties to submit supplementary claims for administrative expenditure that has occurred since 1 April 2023, regardless of whether previous claims in that period have already been determined.

Things happen in the course of being a member of Parliament, and it sometimes takes a while to charge and invoice those things, so it is fair that changes to the fund are effective from the start of this parliamentary term. Supplementary claims made by an Independent member must be accompanied by the requisite declaration that the member has not made and will not make a claim for the same item under the Administration Fund and an additional entitlement. There are checks and balances in place. When public money is given to political parties and members of Parliament, it must be governed by robust processes. I am not questioning the character of our fabulous Independent members in this place, but mistakes can be made. Administration can get complex, especially in the area of electoral funding, and that is why those checks and balances are in place.

Returning to the reason for the retrospective application of the amendments, it also enables the Electoral Commission to assess previously submitted but undetermined claims in accordance with the amended provisions. The transitional provisions have been drafted following close consultation with the Electoral Commission and members of Parliament, so they are not something that the Ministers cooked up on their own. They have consulted and they have made sure that the Electoral Commission is happy that the proposed changes can be administered and the members can be looked after. The members are happy with the changes as well. The amendments provide for public consultation on draft guidelines that relate to administrative expenditure and will only apply prospectively. Those will only apply prospectively. It will not have any retrospective application.

In short, the bill deals with the relationship between members of Parliament and their payments under the Administration Fund and the provisions of the Parliamentary Remuneration Act. It goes a long way to seeking clarification and then fixing that clarification. As the Minister said in her second reading speech, the aim is to provide certainty and clarity for those who are making and determining claims for payment from the Administration Fund. I commend the bill to the House.