Unions bankroll Labor’s Queensland offensive

Hundreds of thousands of dollars poured into election war chest in bid to capture seats crucial to Anthony Albanese victory.

United Workers Union boss Gary Bullock. Pic Peter Wallis

Unions have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Labor‘s Queensland election war chest in a bid to capture seats crucial to Anthony Albanese’s path to victory.

Labor is desperate to make inroads in Queensland, where the Coalition holds 23 of 30 seats and boasts inflated margins after Bill Shorten’s catastrophic 2019 campaign.

The latest record of declarations to the Electoral Commission of Queensland show Labor has ­received $1m in donations, since the start of the year, more than $400,000 of those from unions.

Left-aligned unions are leading the splurge with the Community and Public Sector Union donating $93,000 since January, followed by the powerful United Workers Union with $72,000.

The CPSU’s donations will help fuel the campaign of its star candidate, Elida Faith, who is in a tight race against veteran Liberal MP Warren Entsch in the Cairns-based seat of Leichhardt.

A former organiser for the union, Ms Faith holds an outside chance of winning the tourism-dependent seat which has borne the brunt of pandemic border closures.

Labor insiders say donations – which will be spent on leaflets, robocalls, advertising, polling and corflutes – are also being directed into Left-aligned Brisbane and Longman which have emerged as the ALP’s top two target seats in Queensland.

In the inner-city seat of Brisbane, unions will provide scores of staff to hand out how-to-vote cards at pre-poll ­voting booths, which open on May 9, in a push to topple two-term Coalition MP Trevor Evans.

Labor candidate for Leichhardt Elida Faith. Picture: Brendan Radke

Mr Evans was one of only two Queensland Coalition MPs who shed votes in Mr Morrison’s 2019 win, now holding Brisbane on a 5 per cent margin.

Strategists on both sides have privately conceded expected swings against the government will likely see Labor’s Rebecca Fanning pick up Longman, nestled between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

But Labor’s hope for victory in the neighbouring seat of Dickson, held by Defence Minister Peter Dutton, have dimmed since 2019 when considerable resources were thrown behind UWU backed candidate Ali France.

UWU political director Gary Bullock said members were campaigning on aged care, health and early education this election.

“Working people are tired of having a prime minister who never shows up when they need him. We deserve a leader who is honest and who will be there when our country needs them,” he said.

ALP candidate for Longman, Rebecca Fanning. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

“That’s why we make no apologies for backing Anthony Albanese and Labor – the only party that has made real commitments to improve the lives of working people.”

Right aligned unions have donated considerably less than Left counterparts in the lead up to the election. Since January the Australian Workers Union have donated $31,350 and the Transport Workers Union $11,900.

The more than $1m in donations to the Queensland branch of the ALP have dwarfed efforts from other parties with the Liberal National Party raising $528,500 since January.

LNP insiders told The Australian earlier this year that the party had been struggling to raise donations, blamed partly on the Coalition being behind in the polls and a backroom exodus including state director Michael O’Dwyer and other key fundraising staff.

Big donors to the LNP this year include businessman Martin Albrect, former head of Theiss, who gifted $16,500 to the LNP in March as well as Anthony Pratt’s Pratt Holdings, which donated $20,000 to Mr Dutton’s Dickson campaign.

Queensland Greens have pulled in $395,200 in donations this year followed by Katter’s Australian Party with $33,300 and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation on just $5000.

The last donation made to the United Australia Party was $1.7m from Clive Palmer-owned Mineralogy during the 2020 Queensland state election campaign.

In Queensland, every ­donation to a political party ­exceeding $1000 has to be ­declared within seven days.