Clive Palmer leads billionaires and banks in party priming

Billionaires, major companies and lobby groups poured millions of dollars into Australia’s political parties and candidates over the past financial year.

United Australia Patrty founder Clive Palmer. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Billionaires, major companies and lobby groups poured millions of dollars into Australia’s political parties and candidates over the past financial year, with Clive Palmer emerging as the single largest individual donor, pumping $117m into his United Australia Party.

The Australian Electoral Commission’s annual disclosures released on Wednesday revealed major banks, consultancy firms and resources companies also funded political parties while union groups funnelled millions into the Labor Party’s state coffers.

Some of Australia’s wealthiest Australians were named in the AEC’s Annual Transparency report, including mining magnate Gina Rinehart who donated $24,000 to the Liberal Party through her company Hancock Prospecting.

Billionaire Anthony Pratt donated nearly $4m in total, with $1.7m gifted to the Coalition and about $1.9m to the Labor Party in May, while Sydney billionaire restaurateur Justin Hemmes donated $300,000 to the Liberals.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd made several donations to the Labor Party’s Queensland branch, ranging from $2000 to just over $5000. In all, the now-US ambassador forked out more than $17,000 to Labor.

Professional high-end gambler and mathematician Duncan Turpie donated more than $500,000 to the Greens.

Some of the largest consultancy firms were among the biggest corporate donors to both major parties, with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, Ernst and Young and KPMG donating almost $860,000 to major parties.

Major banks poured money into both Labor and the Coalition, which received $402,491 and $470,635 respectively. Westpac was the largest banking sponsor, spending nearly $232,000, followed by Macquarie Bank, which gave nearly $233,000.

The figures prompted a backlash from the Greens, which said the money constituted “bribery” from the major financial institutions. “This money induced Labor to do exactly what they were told by the banks when they walked away from civil penalties for bank executives who fail to meet the accountability obligations,” Greens economic justice spokesman Nick McKim said.

Clubs NSW donated almost $59,000 to federal Labor.

Aria restaurant on Sydney Harbour donated more than $30,000 to Labor while online service provider Airtasker handed over $30,000.

Data released from the Centre for Public Integrity on Wednesday found that the top 10 individual donors contributed $137.5m to parties and independents, equating to nearly 77 per cent of all donations given in the past year.

The centre’s spokesman, Anthony Whealy KC, said: “The undue influence of money in politics is getting worse.”

“Record high spending fuelled by a handful of donors is putting our democracy at risk,” he added.

“Ten individuals have given 77 per cent of the donations to parties and individuals.

“Given the reliance that the major parties have on these top donors, there is a real risk that they receive special access and yield undue influence on our decision-makers.”