Toughen up political donation laws:Shorten

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten wants political donation laws beefed up in the wake of revelations about the mafia's links to Australian politics.

Party donations may have helped a man with criminal convictions linked to the Calabrian mafia overturn a deportation order, according to the results of a joint Fairfax-ABC investigation report revealed this week.

The allegations concern former immigration minister Amanda Vanstone's decision to overturn a 1996 order to deport illegal migrant Francesco "Frank" Madafferi in 2005, despite his convictions for extortion, mafia conspiracy, two stabbings and drug and gun possession.

His brother had personally donated $15,000 to the Liberal Party's Millennium Forum and organised a fundraiser, according excepts of the report aired on ABC's Four Corners program on Monday.

Mr Shorten said suggestions the mafia tried to infiltrate and influence decisions was worrying.

"Labor is up for reform of political donation laws," he told reporters in Melbourne, adding there were questions for the Liberals.

The Australian Greens backed calls for an overhaul of the donations system.

Senator Lee Rhiannon said the major party leaders shouldn't expect the scandal to just blow over.

A failure to act would added to already deep public cynicism about the motivations behind the giving and receiving large political donations, she said in a statement.

The Fairfax/ABC report said NSW Liberal senator Marise Payne, Victorian MP Russell Broadbent and NSW MP Bruce Billson were all lobbied and approached by Ms Vanstone about the Madafferi case.

Ms Vanstone and the three MPs responded their intervention was based on humanitarian concerns about the impact on the family.

Earlier, former federal Liberal leader John Hewson said there should be a $1000 cap on donations from individuals, a ban on all donations by entities and suggested election campaigns be funded by the public.