GetUp! after years of being funded by the unions and performing political work primarily for Labor and the Greens including targeting Coalition MPs is trying to resist complying with Associated Organisations laws. In short GetUp! wants everyone else to comply with transparency legislation but not itself.

"Activist group GetUp! has engaged a leading barrister after defying a warning from the Australian Electoral Commission to lodge a disclosure return as an ­“associated entity” of Labor and the Greens, and confirmed it was ­advised by the AEC in June that failure to provide disclosure by October 20 could be deemed as a “serious criminal offence”.

A GetUp! spokesman yesterday said that on June 29, the AEC “encouraged” GetUp! to disclose as an “associated entity” to avoid being pursued for a criminal ­offence, and confirmed it had ­refused to comply with the advice to make the declaration.

Independent Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie, who describes himself as a supporter of GetUp!, yesterday argued the group had “become a political organisation” and warned it not to flout the findings of the AEC.

“GetUp! can’t have it both ways,” Mr Wilkie told ABC radio. “They can’t on one hand campaign for better governance, better public policy, they can’t campaign for political candidates, they can’t campaign for an end to political donations but then say they are different and they shouldn’t be covered by any reform.”

It is good to see that GetUp! is the being investigated by the AEC at least.

Shadow, does your Murdoch gutter press fall under the same umbrella? If not why not. Millions of dollar worth of free campaigning for the Coalition, and nothing ever said.

Just as this troubled government used the AFP as a political tool to try and smear Labor leader Shorten, with a fake raid on the offices of the AWU. The shots being called from the taxpayer funded bunker of Liberal Minister Michaelia Cash. Now they are trying to use the AEC as some kind of attack dog to get at Labor and the Greens through the activists organization GetUp.

Given the Coalitions track record on human rights and social justice when in government I would expect GetUp to favor political parties and politicians who are like minded with their aims and ambitions. Just as Murdoch with his hard right politics uses his media empire to push biased conservative propaganda, GetUp can be seen as favoring the progressive side of politics. End of story.

The AEC is simply doing what it is charged to do.

GetUp! has its begging bowl out for public donations. It should as part of its due diligence be welcoming the AEC's check for its own assurance and that of public who are being asked to donate to its campaigns.

Paul,

What bollocks. Obviously, either you have the IQ of a squirrel and don't understand the definition of campaign, or dishonesty is a core feature of Gangrenes. Newscorp does not campaign for anyone any more than Fairfax, the ABC and the Guardian campaign for Labor and the gangrenes, whereas GetUp! actively campaigns both for Labor and the gangrenes and against the coalition.

The AEC is an independent organisation whose virtue the left whingers commend until they disagree.

Perhaps they might also ask Gun Control Australia for a little disclosure?