Politics1 min read

One Nation asks donors at $3,000-a-head Sydney fundraiser to accept ‘non-disclosure agreement’

By · Via The Guardian · Published by Everything Blog

In short

One Nation is requiring guests at an exclusive Sydney event to sign agreements prohibiting them from sharing photographs, recordings, or conversation details with the press. The stringent measures follow past gatherings, including a Melbourne lunch leaked to the media and other events that drew heavy police operations and public protests. Transparency International Australia warned that voters are entitled to know whether political promises are being traded for private financial support. Senior members from both major parties confirmed that demanding confidentiality pledges at donor events is entirely unprecedented.

Key points

  • Transparency advocates argue that enforcing donor secrecy undermines voter awareness rega…: Transparency advocates argue that enforcing donor secrecy undermines voter awareness regarding potential policy commitments.
  • Representatives from both the Labor and Liberal parties stated that using non-disclosure…: Representatives from both the Labor and Liberal parties stated that using non-disclosure agreements for fundraisers is unprecedented.
  • The heightened secrecy reflects party efforts to avoid media leaks and public protests th…: The heightened secrecy reflects party efforts to avoid media leaks and public protests that affected prior high-profile gatherings.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

One Nation is attempting to gag donors from ever revealing details of discussions at an invite-only, cocktail-dress fundraiser with the party’s senior leadership team, in a move described as a “worrying precedent” for democracy.

Invitations to the “very special evening” at an undisclosed central Sydney venue next Thursday show donors will be charged $3,000 for a “private and very discrete” four-hour event.

Donors have been told they’ll meeting with Pauline Hanson; One Nation’s national director, James Ashby; federal MP Barnaby Joyce; the federal party’s chief of staff, Chris Taylor; and its New South Wales leader, Mike Newman.

But unlike at other One Nation fundraisers – including a $2,000 invite-only event in Melbourne in September – this time donors have been asked to abide by a “non-disclosure agreement” preventing them from disclosing the identities of any attendees. They are also stopped from sharing the nature of any discussions at the event, which is reportedly set to feature a “cocktail and canapé service throughout the evening as the sun sets” and a live auction.

“Do not disclose information about what occurs at…

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