In 2019-20, continued to strengthen our democracy so it works to protect the places and wildlife we love.
Our campaign in action
This year we celebrated a significant win for our democracy campaign when Queensland introduced nation-leading electoral reforms to get big money out of politics. ACF played a critical role in achieving this, building influential relationships with politicians and working closely with civil society to ensure their views and ours were reflected in the final legislation.
The new laws mean companies and individuals who want to influence the political process through donations will be limited in the amount of money they can contribute — tipping the balance back in favour of the community. They also stand as a model for other governments to adopt.
At a national level, ACF worked alongside the Human Rights Law Centre and the Australian Council of Social Service to help launch the Australian Democracy Network. ACF is now helping to bring civil society groups into the network, with the goal of creating a thriving democracy for Australia.
We kept up our inside track work to strengthen relationships with federal Members of Parliament, providing advice, background briefings and submissions to parliamentary inquiries. We continued to expose the influence the fossil fuel industry has on Australian democracy, publishing research on links between politicians and coal, oil and gas corporations.
To find out how to talk effectively about democracy, ACF led a research project with allies from across civil society. We looked into Australian and international social research, analysed the language dominant voices used, and conducted qualitative and quantitative research. We published and shared our findings in a comprehensive how-to guide.
Our impact
- Queensland now leads the nation with electoral reforms to get big money out of politics.
- Awareness of links between the fossil fuel industry and politicians continues to grow.
