Union activists could face 10 years in jail under the terms of the NSW Electoral Funding Bill passed in May by both houses of State Parliament.
The bill places restrictions on the expenditure and actions of third party campaigners in the lead up to local and state government elections.
Unions NSW Secretary Mark Morey addressed IEU Council on 16 June to thank the IEU for supporting a high court action to try and repeal the bill.
Morey said the bill contained some “really nasty clauses” aimed at stopping unions coming together to run actions such as the Your Rights at Work campaign of 2007.
The bill reduces the expenditure allowance for third party campaigner for the six months prior to an election campaign from $1 million to $500,000 for those registered before the election, and from $525,00 to $250,00 for those not registered before the election.
The bill makes it unlawful for third party campaigners to ‘act in concert’ with other persons to incur electoral expenditure that exceeds the cap. This rule does not apply to political parties or candidates.
