How politicians take a “trust me, bro” approach to transparency

What if we told you that US politics is more transparent than Australian politics? Case in point: we know that Gina Rinehart donated money to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s legal defence fund. But how much? The Senator doesn’t have to say.Sean Johnson, founder of Open Politics and author of this week’s Rinehart donation scoop, joins the podcast to explain the many ways politicians can hide assets and keep potential conflicts off the register of interests. With so many loopholes, exemptions and no consequences for failing to disclose, the system is best summed up as, “trust me, bro” — but Johnson has ideas for how we can fix it. Read more:The company they keep: Where does your MP invest their money? Search our databaseGina Rinehart among slew of people bankrolling Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s defamation defenceLandlord List: See how many properties your local MP ownsNothing can force politicians to disclose their conflicts and benefits. That’s a problem.Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What this episode covers

What if we told you that US politics is more transparent than Australian politics? Case in point: we know that Gina Rinehart donated money to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s legal defence fund. But how much? The Senator doesn’t have to say.Sean Johnson, founder of Open Politics and author of this week’s Rinehart donation scoop, joins the podcast to explain the many ways politicians can hide assets and keep potential conflicts off the register of interests. With so many loopholes, exemptions and no consequences for failing to disclose, the system is best summed up as, “trust me, bro” — but Johnson has ideas for how we can fix it. Read more:The company they keep: Where does your MP invest their money? Search our databaseGina Rinehart among slew of people bankrolling Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s defamation defenceLandlord List: See how many properties your local MP ownsNothing can force politicians to disclose their conflicts and benefits. That’s a problem.Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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This episode was published on September 18, 2025.

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