Unions NSW High Court Win

The High Court has today upheld Unions NSW challenge to the O’Farrell Government’s electoral donation laws, accepting that the laws hindered the freedom of political communication implied in the Commonwealth constitution.

The electoral laws passed by the NSW parliament early last year prevented working people from expressing their political views by:

• Banning peak councils such as Unions NSW from levying its affiliates to run movement-wide election campaigns (such as the highly successful Your Rights at Work campaign);
• Combining the caps on election spending for political parties and affiliated unions;
• Banning trade unions from paying affiliation fees to political parties

Despite being joined by every conservative government in the country (Including the Abbott Coalition Government) the Unions NSW application was unanimously upheld by the full bench of the High Court.

Costs were also awarded against the NSW Government.

Unions NSW Assistant Secretary, Mark Morey said the High Court decision ought to be respected by the O’Farrell Government.

“The O’Farrell laws attempted to silence working people. Today those laws have been struck down by the High Court,” Mr Morey said

“The High Court has recognised the right of working people to pool their resources and express their voice collectively,” Mr Morey said

“There is now an onus on the O’Farrell Government to go back to the drawing board and rethink how it regulates electoral donation laws. When it does this, it ought to be open, inclusive and non-partisan.

The United Services Union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, the Transport Workers Union, the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association and the Teachers Federation also supported the High Court application.