The annual AEC third party political expenditure returns were released this morning. Annual reporting was introduced by the Howard government with the pretty express purpose of harassing left-wing third parties such as green groups and GetUp!. However it catches industry groups as well, and as the table below for the third successive year they have outspent left-wing groups.

The law does not require disclosure of which issues were pursued, but the main industry players for 2011-12 were industry groups involved in the carbon tax ($9.3 million) and and pokies regulation ($4.3 million). (Updated noon 1/2 to correct misclassified expenditure).

Political expenditure disclosure laws are very complex, including a requirement for disclosure of spending exceeding $11,900 a year on ‘the public expression of views on an issue in an election’. So third parties operating during 2011-12 were required to forecast which issues would be issues in the 2013 election, which we now know will be on 14 September. As it is very hard to predict what will be an issue that far out (quite possibly, not pokies in the end) there is a basic rule of law problem with this provision.

Under the current system, these complexities are largely restricted to major players which spend $11,900 plus a year. But in bill before the parliament, which the government this week announced it would try to pass by 30 June, the threshold for disclosure would drop to $1,000 in any six month period. This will catch many small political groups run by volunteers, few of whom will have any idea that their trivial political activity could land them in serious legal trouble.

The Australian Electoral Commission’s political donations and expenditure information for 2010-11 was released today.

For the second year running, business and industry groups outspent left-wing groups, putting more than $21 million into their campaigns (this is an under-count as at least one big-spending industry association has not put in the required report). When the Coalition introduced these laws 2006, the aim was to harass the left-wing third parties that traditionally were the main players. However, increasingly they affect the business community.

Two-thirds of the business and industry spending was an attack on cigarette plain packaging laws. There will be a lot more declared for 2011-12, as the carbon tax and pokies campaigns intensified.

Over the time these laws have been in place, the interesting trend has been the rise of GetUp!, which has increased its spending nine-fold since 2006-07.

The ideological/issue right is much less active than the ideological/issue left in political advertising. For 2010-11 the miscellaneous right-wing groups were the conservative Australian Christian Lobby and the National Civic Council. However, the IPA has taken out a few full-page ads in the last 6 months, so this will add a small-government ideological voice to this political tactic.