Sources of millions in funding to Labor and Liberals kept secret in political donations disclosures
The source of tens of millions of dollars in electoral funding remains a secret, with political parties not disclosing where more than a third of their income comes from.
Key points:
Pratt Holdings was the largest donor last financial year
The source of a third of donations has been kept secret by the parties
The Centre for Public Integrity says voters deserve to know who is funding Australian political parties
The Australian Electoral Commission's annual release of financial disclosures by political parties has revealed some of the major donors in 2020-21, but has also raised questions about where the rest of their money is coming from.
While the national bodies of the Liberal Party and the Australian Labor Party (ALP) declare the source of most of their funds, their state bodies are much more opaque.
About 80 per cent of the finances for the Liberal Party of Australia are disclosed, while the ALP's federal body has accounted for 90 per cent of its funding (for The Nationals, it is 69 per cent and the Australian Greens 40.4 per cent).
But the Tasmanian branch of the Liberal Party has only disclosed the source of $260,000 out of the $3.4 million in its annual receipts, which is just 7.6 per cent.
The ALP's Tasmanian branch only disclosed where 15.4 per cent of its funding came from.
The Victorian branch of The Nationals has not disclosed where a single dollar of its $1.9 million in funding originated.
Parties using loopholes to dodge disclosure
Donations worth less than $14,300 do not need to be declared, meaning smaller fundraising drives by political parties will often not be included in the disclosures.
It is also possible for large donations to be made with multiple cheques just under that threshold.
Donations can also be funnelled through bodies affiliated with political parties that, for example, accept payments for seats at fundraising events.
These funds are then registered by the political parties as receipts from the affiliated body and the original source remains hidden.
Centre for Public Integrity chair Anthony Whealy QC said the latest batch of donation disclosure showed the need for reform.
"The federal disclosure scheme is misnamed — it is a non-disclosure scheme with more than a third of political funding shrouded in secrecy," Mr Whealy said.
"With an election around the corner, the public deserves to know who is funding our political parties.
"What we can see is that a handful of donors dominate the funding of political parties. Big money has big impact, with the top 10 donors funding almost a quarter of all donations."
Visy's billionaire the biggest donor
Businessman Anthony Pratt's company Pratt Holdings was the largest donor last financial year, with $1.3 million directed almost entirely to Liberal Party divisions.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-01/australian-election-commission-financial-disclosure/100794808