The State Government will move to ensure electors will be able to scrutinise the financial interests of State politicians before the next election.
"Any politician who has a problem with this must have something to hide," Premier Carmen Lawrence said today.
"We are working on measures to ensure that electors have access to details of the financial interests of politicians and the sources of political donations before they vote.
"Disclosure of potential influences on politicians or political parties is clearly of crucial public interest and importance.
"We intend to make the facts publicly available.
"The electors can then make informed judgements."
Dr Lawrence said one of the changes proposed was to reduce from 90 to 30 days the time allowed for politicians to submit their financial interests for public scrutiny.
This would make them publicly available before the next election.
Cabinet today agreed to changes based on proposals by Independent MLC Reg Davies to political donations legislation so that the main intent of the legislation - public disclosure of political donations - could be enacted.
The effect of the changes would be to restrict Government advertising and travel by Ministers before the election.
The political donations legislation was the first step.
Further work needed to be done on issues such as whether the size of donations should be limited so that the community could be assured that large donations did not bring undue or improper influence.
Public funding of campaigns should be considered, as should possible restrictions on the most expensive forms of campaigning.
The Government would also push hard for the passage through Parliament this session of its freedom of information legislation - the other crucial component of its campaign for public disclosure and accountability.
It was already advertising for an Information Commissioner.
