Tobacco, gaming and betting companies among the Nationals’ big donors

Big tobacco, gambling and mining companies are helping prop up the Nationals party and questions are being raised around the ethics of accepting the donations.

Big tobacco, gambling and mining companies are helping prop up the Nationals party, new electoral donation records show.

Global tobacco companies British American Tobacco and Phillip Morris, mining behemoths Adani Mining and Fortescue Metals, as well as the mining industry’s lobby group, Minerals Council of Australia, were among the party’s major donors in 2023-24, the latest records of disclosure return forms published by the Australian Electoral Commission show.

Pubs and gambling company Endeavour Group and betting companies Entain Group and Tabcorp were also listed as donors.

Many of the donations, all made during the 2023-24 financial year, were paid to Laneway Assets, the Nationals’ vehicle for receiving membership fees.

Phillip Morris’ donation of $100,000 was its largest political donation to an Australian party, eclipsing its previous record of $75,000 in 2022-23.

BAT Australia donated $84,700, which followed a $55,000 donation the previous year – the first time the tobacco company made a political donation in 12 years.

It came as legislation was being drafted in Canberra to vaping and e-cigarette laws, which came into effect on July 1 last year.

A deal struck by Labor and the Greens made the sale of vapes and vaping products illegal unless sold from a pharmacy, regardless of whether they contained nicotine.

The Nationals policy, backed by the Coalition in June last year, is for a regulated model similar to laws applying to cigarettes.

“Prohibition hasn’t worked. Less than 10 per cent of Australians who vape have a prescription and Labor’s announcement will only help the black market continue to grow,” Nationals leader David Littleproud said when announcing the party’s policy in June last year. “The Coalition’s strictly regulated model under the TGA will ensure there is controlled licencing to over 18s, similar to cigarettes.”

Cartoon: Chris Rule

Endeavour Group, which owns Dan Murphy’s, BWS and hundreds of licensed hotels with poker machines, donated $22,000 to the party in 2023-24 - less than it donated to the Liberal and Labor parties.

Adani Mining donated $66,000 to Laneway Assets in 2023-24, the Australian Trucking Association donated $25,000, as did Responsible Wagering Australia, Tabcorp Holdings, Telstra and oil and gas company Santos Limited.

Donations totalled $2.48m to the National party and another $1.68m to Laneway Assets. Only details of donations over $16,300 must be disclosed.

Dr Charles Livingstone says smoking, alcohol and gambling are the three greatest causes of societal harm. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Associate Professor Charles Livingstone from Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine said the Nationals may have had an excuse accepting money from tobacco companies when it was grown in Australia, but there have been no licenced tobacco growers since 2006.

“It’s hard to work out why the Nationals would support a product that kills,” Dr Livingstone said. “It continues to be the single biggest contributor of mortality and morbidity in Australia.”

Dr Livingstone said the Electoral Act should be reformed to ban donations from “the big three”, tobacco, gambling and alcohol companies.

“The second biggest cause of destruction and death is alcohol, and gambling is up there in magnitude,” he said.

“The federal system remains vulnerable and allows corporations entirely dependent on government regulation to make their money to buy their influence. The access their donations buys certainly influences government policy.”

A BAT Australia spokesman said illicit tobacco and vaping products was a “national crisis” that needed urgent attention from all sides of politics.

“BAT Australia will continue to advocate for meaningful action to address this prolific and growing law and order crisis that has arisen from the wrong policy choices from the current federal government,” he said.

The Nationals Party was unable to respond to questions in time for publication.