CANBERRA, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Opposition Leader has called for a cap on political donations.
Anthony Albanese, the leader of the Labor Party, recently said that Labor would push for a donation cap, declaring that "democracy shouldn't be for sale."
Mining magnate Clive Palmer donated about 83 million Australian dollars (54.7 million U.S. dollars) to his United Australia Party (UAP) for a national advertising blitz in the lead-up to the 2019 general election.
Though the UAP did not win a single seat in either house of Australian Parliament, Albanese told Australian Broadcasting Corporation television that Palmer's spend was "obscene".
"It's quite clear that Australians are losing faith with the political system, and when an individual can spend 80 million, our democracy shouldn't be for sale," he said.
"This is an extraordinary abuse. What we need is transparency, real-time donation reforms and disclosure.
"They should be able to donate but what they shouldn't be able to do is to spend an obscene amount of money, which is what we saw in order to change a political outcome."
Responding to Albanese, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said that Australia already has a robust system to monitor and disclose political donations.
"All Australians are entitled to participate in the democratic process, including by financially supporting candidates and political parties standing for election," he said.
