Ideas@TheCentre
Should governments choose their critics?
Andrew Norton |
05 February 2010
While the US strengthens its free speech laws, our free speech system could soon be undermined. In private talks over recent months, the Coalition and Labor have considered proposals to limit or even ban political donations and expenditure by unions, companies and non-government organisations. Only strong union opposition seems to stand between these proposals and the statute books.
An important point made in the majority Citizens United judgment is that the US Constitution does not permit the US government to ‘impose restrictions on certain disfavoured speakers.’ What these restrictions do is prejudge the issue of whose opinions should be heard in the political process. Donations bans or political expenditure controls help governments to choose their critics.
Nobody believes that all union and corporate political activity is good for the policy process. But no consensus exists on which union or corporate views should be accepted or rejected. We have free speech and democracy to consider the different perspectives on offer and to temporarily resolve contentious issues, always leaving decisions open to criticism and change. The big players prejudging issues by disqualifying rivals in the political race seriously weakens this system.
The Liberals, stung by the scale of WorkChoices opposition, want us to believe that union wealth makes the political race unfair. But should the Coalition be allowed to legally undermine unions and ignore public opinion on industrial relations, and then prohibit a loud and forceful response? Or now that the tables are turned, should employer groups be prevented from campaigning strongly against excessive union power and Fair Work Australia tribunal interference in management decisions?
The US Supreme Court’s answer to these questions is the right one: no.
Andrew Norton is a Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies. His CIS paper Diminishing Democracy: The Threat Posed by Political Expenditure Laws was published in 2009.
