Mr. Brian McKevitt:

I will take the Senator’s point about the Electoral (Civil Society Freedom) (Amendment) Bill, the commission’s functions in terms of third parties and the definition of “political purposes”, which is something that the commission first raised in a 2003 report when examining third parties’ obligations and which we have been recommending be addressed ever since. The commission’s role has been to implement provisions as they stand, which has caused certain difficulties with court casts and so on. The commission has stated in recent years – I cannot remember whether it was in our 2019 or 2020 annual report – that it has to consider each individual case where the definition is engaged in terms of third parties but that it will take into account people’s constitutional and European rights in respect of the need for organisations to represent themselves and to raise funding in support of those functions as well as whether the functions of those third parties are engaged primarily in elections and referendums or more generally in campaigns on public policy. If the Electoral (Civil Society Freedom) (Amendment) Bill is not adopted, it is hoped that, in the context of a general review of legislation, this situation will be reviewed by the electoral commission once it is set up and is considering which functions of SIPO as regards political donations and other matters will be transferred to it.