Campaign finance reform is presented as improving Australian democracy and government by limiting ‘undue influence’. Yet the practical effect of banning, capping or disclosing political donations is to limit any influence. In a liberal democracy, governments should not select or limit its critics and rivals.

Andrew Norton was a Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies and Editor of Policy magazine. He has written widely on higher education policy, liberal and conservative political ideas and public opinion. Andrew is a regular contributor to newspapers and has written numerous CIS Issue Analysis papers. In the late 1990s, he was Higher Education Adviser to Dr David Kemp, Federal Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs.