The Greens will publish details of who has donated to the party and its candidates for the upcoming council elections and how much will be spent on each campaign two weeks before voters go to the September 10 poll.
NSW election funding laws say political parties and candidates do not have to disclose their reportable donations – those over $1000 – and expenditure details for the council elections until September next year.
But Greens MP David Shoebridge says the party will publish the details on August 30 – which is the first day of pre-polling – and is calling on other parties and candidates to do the same.
Mr Shoebridge acknowledged that while many donations to council campaigns are below the $1000 reporting threshold, the party would also publish cumulative figures for donations below $1000, although not donor names.
"Elections should be a contest of ideas, not a battle of who has the biggest bank balance or the wealthiest donors," Mr Shoebridge said.
"Residents will know, before they vote, all of the reportable donations the Greens have received to our local council campaigns as well as how much we will be spending in each campaign."
Mr Shoebridge said that because, unlike in state elections, there are no spending caps for local government elections, "those who have a lot to gain from getting the 'right' councillors elected can spend whatever they like to make it happen".
The Baird government says there was insufficient time to introduce expenditure caps for this year's poll but has introduced annual donations caps of $5900 to parties and $2600 to candidates.
However, Mr Shoebridge said it was "a case of too little too late" because the donation caps only apply from July 1.
"It's almost certain that major donors would have already been tapped for funds before these caps came into place," he said.
Spending on the September 2012 council elections is not separately reported by parties.
But records show that during 2012-13, when three state byelections were also held, the NSW Liberals declared $2.4 million in electoral spending, compared with Labor's $730,000 and the Greens' $410,000.
A NSW Labor spokesman said its candidates "will disclose all income and expenditure as required under the act. candidates "will disclose all income and expenditure as required under the act."
Labor has pledged to introduce real-time disclosure of donations from 2017, which will make Labor the first political party in Australia to do so.
A Liberal Party spokeswoman said: "Donations to the NSW Liberal Party will be disclosed in accordance with the requirements of electoral laws."
