Labor received $11.5 million from donors in 2017-18 as it heads towards federal election

Labor and the Liberals stopped accepting money from tobacco companies years ago, but Philip Morris remains a huge donor to the National Party, the Australian Electoral Commission has revealed.

The National Party has accepted more than $56,000 in political donations from the tobacco industry heading into the 2019 federal election.

Tobacco giant Philip Morris donated $56,500 to the National Party in 2017-18, according to the latest Australian Electoral Commission political donations figures out today.

It was the party’s second biggest donor behind agribusiness the Manildra Group, which gave $158,000 across the year.

The Nationals have so far refused to bow to pressure to ban tobacco industry donations despite the Liberal Party announcing in 2013 it would no longer accept money from tobacco companies and Labor banning the donations in 2004.

“The Nationals only accept contributions from organisations that strictly meet Australia’s political donation laws and regulations,” a party spokesman told News Corp.

“Legitimate organisations under these laws are allowed to make a donation if they choose to do so.”

Philip Morris also gave $40,000 to David Leyonhjelm’s Liberal Democratic Party in 2017-18.

The gun lobby also donated to Katter’s Australian Party, which received $50,000 from the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia’s Queensland branch.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation did not disclose any private or corporate donors, as the AEC requires only donations greater than $13,500 to be disclosed.

The party received $1.7 million in donations, with $1.03 coming from public money given to political parties by the AEC for receiving more than 4 per cent of first preference votes.

LABOR DONATIONS OUTSTRIP LIBERALS 2 TO 1

Labor’s campaign war chest received an $11.5 million boost from political donors last year - more than double the Liberal’s national branch received as the government stares down the possibility of an election defeat.

Australian Electoral Commission political donations figures out today reveal the Liberal Party of Australia received just $5.6 million in 2017-18.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Kristy Muir

But donations still flooded in for the party’s state branches, adding about $63 million to Liberal coffers across Australia ahead of the election.

Labor’s branches received a smaller overall total of about $58 million.

All of the donations were received in the financial year before Malcolm Turnbull was ousted as prime minister in a leadership spill in August.

Chinese mining magnate Sally Zou once again gave generously to the Liberal’s SA division, donating $172,055 across the year.

Long-time Liberal donors Pamela and Ian Wall, the now-retired co-founder of electrical engineering company Codan, respectively donated $203,000 and $190,000 to the SA branch.

Billionaire Anthony Pratt also donated $150,000 to the Liberals via Pratt Holdings.

The Liberals’ big corporate donors also included the Australian Hotels Association, Woodside, ANZ Banking, Westpac, Macquarie, Commonwealth Bank and printing company the Waratah Group.

Labor’s biggest donation came from the Electrical Trades Union of Australia’s Victorian branch, which gave $651,900 to the party’s state branch and $450,000 to its national branch.

The CFMMEU was another big donor, giving $146,425 to the party’s Tasmanian branch.

The Maritime Union of Australia Queensland, Woodside, Macquarie Telecom, the Australian Hotels Association, ANZ, and Commonwealth Bank were among other big donors to Labor.

Bizarrely, the biggest donation from an individual last year was from a former women’s studies professor to the Greens.

Professor Chilla Bulbeck, who worked at Adelaide University for more than a decade and is now Convenor of the Greens WA branch, donated a whopping $599,860 to her party.

Originally published as Labor received $11.5 million from donors in 2017-18 as it heads towards federal election