Transparency

Donations and expenses

The reality is the major parties receive significant funds both throughout the year and during an election cycle. This gives them a huge advantage.

I support greater transparency in electoral funding reporting and improvements to the reporting system. I have made a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters to see real improvement in campaign financing and expenditure this term. You can see my submission here, and you can see an overview of my 2022 Federal Election Campaign Funding here.

In line with these principles, my team and I have published a donor list of every monetary donation to Kylea Tink Independent Ltd during my term in Parliament. Privacy is respected and names are withheld where a donor wishes to remain anonymous. We endeavour to list donations within 21 days of receipt. 

Details of all MPs' office and travel expenses are published here. In North Sydney, office rental accounts for two-thirds of our total expenses due to a lease that we inherited from the previous government. My team is working with the Department of Parliamentary Services to identify more suitable office facilities.

 

Lobbyist access

All Parliamentarians have the opportunity to sponsor individuals’ access to the private areas of Parliament House in Canberra. The list of individuals I have sponsored, apart from staff members, is here. You can read more about my calls for transparency over ‘orange passes’ here.

 

Grants process

Federal Government electorate-based community grant programs open intermittently throughout the year, generally occurring 2 – 3 times per year. For each grant opportunity, an expression of interest process will be advertised to eligible organisations via the website, social media channels and directly via our grants database.

In order to engage the wider community in determining how Federal funding allocated to the electorate is best spent, I have convened a North Sydney Community Grants Committee (‘Committee’). The Committee is comprised of nominated volunteer representatives from each of the Councils within North Sydney along with myself. These volunteers are typically drawn from Council staff with roles in community development.

The Committee will review and make recommendations on proposed applications for various Federal Government grants throughout the year, including which applicants/projects will be invited to apply for certain grants and how funding should be allocated. In keeping with the Committee’s role in undertaking a community service, there is no payment, travel allowance or honorarium available to Committee members. All conflicts of interest are declared at the time of Committee deliberation, and reported in accordance with the relevant grant guidelines.

In considering expressions of interest the Committee will have due regard to ensuring an appropriate mix of successful applicants across the electorate by geography, community reach, organisation type and previous grant history.

If you have any questions about this process or would like more information about accessing grants please contact us.