Australia will ban foreign political donations and force lobbyists to reveal when they are working for overseas entities under tough new laws designed to tackle growing espionage threats and Chinese influence in domestic politics.
The crackdown follows revelations that organisations and individuals with alleged links to the Chinese government have donated more than A$6.7m to the Liberal and Labor parties over recent years. One opposition MP, who received cash, called publicly for Australia to respect China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea — a position contrary to that of his party.
“Foreign intelligence services are engaged in covert influence and interference on an unprecedented scale,” Malcolm Turnbull, Australia’s prime minister, said on Tuesday as he summarised the proposed legislation.