Of Climate 200’s donations, $144,000 and $122,000 went to Melbourne MPs Zoe Daniels and Monique Ryan, respectively, indicating the intensity of their local battles with Liberal candidates. Less than $80,000 went to each of the Sydney teal MPs.
The figures include donations, public funding from the AEC and some other types of payments that are not donations.
Other figures rounding out the top 10 donors include mathematician and long-time Greens donor Duncan Turpie who gave more than $275,000 to the Greens.
William Taylor Nominees, a private company directed by venture capital investor James Taylor, gave $533,000 to the teal movement; First Australians Capital gave $500,000 to GetUp!; Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting gave $500,000 to Coalition parties; Climate 200 provided $432,000 to teal MPs; and the Pharmacy Guild donated $402,000 to various branches of both major parties.
The biggest donors to Labor were Labor Holdings Pty Ltd ($1.04 million), the United Workers Union ($1.02 million), and Pratt.
The Coalition’s biggest were Vapold ($4.9 million) and the Cormack Foundation ($1.17 million), two of the party’s associated entities that invest using proceeds from the sales of previous party assets such as buildings and radio stations.
Loading
Analysis from the Centre for Public Integrity showed $74.2 million in “dark money” flowing into political parties from sources that are kept secret, highlighting the opacity of the current system of political disclosure.
The Albanese government has put forward a proposal to drastically cap political donations, create real-time disclosure of such payments, and limit the amount a candidate can spend in a seat. The changes are designed to curb the influence of big money in politics.
The draft legislation is on the agenda for the upcoming parliamentary sitting week. The Greens and teals have expressed scepticism about the changes because they worry the package is designed to aid the major parties.
