Malcolm Turnbull mocked over $1 million election campaign donation

THE PM made an unprecedented seven-figure donation to his own party and Labor is loving it. The cash splash plays right into their hands.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is reported to have made an unprecedented seven-figure donation to his own party’s election campaign. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP Image

LABOR frontbencher Anthony Albanese has mocked the Prime Minister and his “desperate” party after it was revealed Malcolm Turnbull donated $1 million from his own pocket to prop up the Liberal Party’s federal election campaign.

The Opposition seized on Mr Turnbull’s wealth during the campaign, even hinging an advertising campaign on the leader being “seriously out of touch”. Revelations that Mr Turnbull personally shelled out a seven figure sum for his own party’s campaign published in The Australian today has given Labor even more ammunition.

It has been reported that the Prime Minister made the massive donation during the second half of the eight-week campaign as the party struggled to compete with Labor’s union-bolstered advertising blitz.

The unprecedented donation was “tightly kept secret”, the newspaper reported. Mr Turnbull has not confirmed or denied the report.

Liberal frontbencher Kelly O’Dwyer defended the reports on Nine’s Today Show this morning, saying individuals were free to donate to the party.

“We say to individuals, look, if you want to contribute to our campaign you can do that,” she said.

“With the union movement, when you look at the donations to the Labor Party that were made by them, they compel their membership to support the Labor campaign.”

It's been revealed @TurnbullMalcolm donated $1Million to help his re-election campaign. #9Today https://t.co/1XJ3PlkJYS

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) July 14, 2016

The assistant treasurer claims the Labor Party and union movement out spent the Liberals five to one in the last election campaign.

Her on air sparring partner, Mr Albanese, called the claim “a big lie” and said he wished Labor was supported by the wealth of the Liberal’s corporate backers and its cashed-up leader.

“This is a big lie, the fact is that Kelly’s little Higgins club down there that raised money where corporates go to functions paying thousands of dollars each, the shareholders of those companies don’t get a say in whether that money is going into that fund that is running the Higgins electorate and has been run for many years,” he said.

“And Malcolm Turnbull, I wish we had someone who had a lazy million dollars sitting in the corner they could just plonk into a campaign. We don’t have it.”

During the election campaign, Mr Turnbull personally courted supporters at exclusive functions where supporters paid up to $10,000 a head for the pleasure, with proceeds going to the campaign.

Mr Turnbull’s wife Lucy and Liberal Party deputy leader Julie Bishop also headlined a prestigious fundraising do in the later weeks of the campaign.

Lucy Turnbull and Liberal deputy leader Julie Bishop held a $2000 a seat Liberal lunch in Perth last month. Picture: Adam Taylor

Despite the significant fundraising efforts of the party’s senior representatives, the party struggled to compete with Labor’s heavy advertising spend and campaigns run by its union affiliates.

According to The Australian, the Liberal Party is either in debt or broke pending funds from pledges made during the campaign’s final week.

The Liberal Party is believed to have suffered from Labor’s advertising campaign, particularly the effective “Medicare” campaign which convinced voters the Turnbull Government planned to privatise or sell off Medicare.

Another significant campaign ad attacked Mr Turnbull’s considerable wealth and privileged upbringing, claiming he planned to cut health and education services because he “never relied on them” himself.

The Prime Minister, who was given the nickname “Mr Harbourside Mansion” by former Liberal adviser Peta Credlin during the campaign, is estimated to be worth up to $200 million.