Labor, donor scramble to correct record after disclosure blunder

West Australian construction giant Georgiou and WA Labor have been forced to correct a $7700 donation disclosure after inquiries from WAtoday revealed it had been lodged under the wrong business entity.

According to the WA Electoral Commission donation disclosure register, the Fitzroy Bridge Alliance made a $7700 payment to Labor on September 14. The donation had disappeared from the register by Friday morning.

The Fitzroy River Bridge alliance finished the project in December.

The alliance is a joint venture between Georgiou, BMD Group and design consultants BG&E to deliver the Fitzroy River Bridge in partnership with apolitical government agency Main Roads WA.

The alliance finished the Fitzroy River Bridge project in nine months last year and the bridge was officially opened in December.

WAtoday asked each alliance partner why the entity, whose project was completed 10 months ago, was donating to a political party.

On Thursday, a Georgiou spokeswoman said the alliance was listed as an error on the disclosure, and they had requested it be changed to Georgiou.

“The Fitzroy River Bridge Alliance has not donated to the Australian Labor Party,” the spokeswoman said.

“Following an event attended by Georgiou, Fitzroy Bridge Alliance was registered as the donor on the disclosure register, instead of Georgiou, in error.

“Any inference of deliberate attribution of the payment to Fitzroy Bridge Alliance by either Georgiou, WA Labor or the event organisers is categorically rejected.

“Georgiou has contacted the event organisers to update this error on the disclosure register.”

The spokeswoman said no claim for this donation had been made from Georgiou to Main Roads WA.

The donation was for a ticket to a fundraising event held by a Labor member for their re-election campaign.

WA Labor Secretary Ellie Whiteaker refuted any suggestion her party had made the error and said it was lodged based on information provided by the donor.

“WA Labor declared the gift to the Western Australian Electoral Commission in line with our obligations under the Electoral Act, based on the information we were provided from the donor,” she said.

“Since we made the disclosure, the organisation in question has asked us to amend the invoice and advised that the payment did, in fact, come from a different entity than was initially advised.

“We will update the disclosure accordingly.”

WA Labor would not divulge which MP had hosted the fundraising event.

Under electoral finance rules the names and addresses of political donors must be included in disclosures, which are now published weekly for WA political parties following Cook government law changes that came into effect on July 1.

Political party bosses are responsible for donations disclosures and fines of more than $30,000 can apply if the party knowingly lodges a disclosure with false or misleading information.

Main Roads declined to comment.

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