Political parties get $215m in donations

2 Feb 2009, 8:19 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Political parties raked in more than $215 million in 2007-08 and controversial "hidden" donations jumped 75 per cent, new figures show.

Political parties raked in more than $215 million in 2007-08 and controversial "hidden" donations jumped 75 per cent, new figures show.

Australian Electoral Commission financial disclosures released on Monday, reveal the Australian Labor Party (ALP) received $110.3 million, including $51.4 million in donations from various private companies and donor vehicles.

Unions donated a total of $4.8 million to the ALP during the period which covered the lead-up to the November 2007 federal election.

The Liberal Party-Nationals coalition received a total of $89 million in donations, receipts and income from business activities, including $49 million in donations.

Family First, which has one senator and a number of state MPs, received $635,807, including $481,792 in donations.

Special Minister of State John Faulkner said hidden donations had jumped because the Howard government raised the anonymous donor threshold from $1,500 to more than $10,000 after the 2004 federal election.

Senator Faulkner is planning a raft of changes to political donations and disclosure laws including a lowering of the threshold to $1,000 and a ban on foreign donations.

Donors of amounts above the threshold must record their identity.

Hong Kong businessmen featured highly with donations totally $1.1 million to the NSW branch of the ALP.

Chief among them was gaming tycoon Stanley Ho, who donated $400,000, Hungtat Worldwide with a donation of $600,000 and Kingson Investments with a donation of $250,000.

There were also two donations of $50,000 each to Labor from Hong Kong resident Anthony Chan whose listed address is the same as Dr Ho's.

Prominent Liberal Party donors included the Walker Corporation with $300,000 and donations of $200,000 each from Inghams Enterprises and Pratt Industries.

The figures also revealed the amount spent by third parties on political advertising, broadcasting and polling by the ACTU, employer groups and special interest groups such as the Climate Change Council.

The ACTU spent $15.8 million on political advertising during 2007-08, mostly on the Your Rights at Work campaign against the Howard government's Work Choices industrial laws.

The figures also show the ACTU spent more than $800,000 on opinion polls and in excess of $300,000 on politically motivated printing and publishing in the last financial year.

Other big spenders were the Business Council of Australia ($2.3 million), Forward Brisbane Leadership ($2 million) and the Climate Institute ($1.4 million).

The Nationals benefited from donations from a company called Minerology which donated $406,000 and Inghams Enterprises which donated $100,000.

Opposition shadow special minister of state Michael Ronaldson said unions had been allowed to flex their financial muscle over Labor with substantial donations and spending on direct campaigning.

Greens leader Bob Brown called for public funding of elections and a ban on private donations.

Senator Brown queried a donation to the Liberal Party of $64,750 by Gunns Ltd, which wants to build a $3 billion pulp mill in northern Tasmania, in the lead-up to the federal election in 2007.

"As a matter of democratic principle, elections should give voters fair access to all parties' policies, and public funding is the most even-handed way to ensure this outcome," he said.

More than $127 million was given to political parties in 2006-07.

Meanwhile, Federal Labor has ramped up its efforts to ban foreign political donations, after it was revealed the ALP returned $500,000 gifted by the wife of a Chinese businessman.

Octogenarian billionaire businessman and Macau casino king Stanley Ho made an individual donation of $400,000 to the NSW ALP in 2007/08.

But the federal Labor Party returned $499,980 donated by Dr Ho's wife, Angela Leong.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd refused to comment on the return on Monday.

"All such questions should be directed to the national secretary of the Australian Labor Party," Mr Rudd told reporters.

The national secretary, Karl Bitar, later confirmed "a returned donation".

"Given the size of the donation, the ALP conducted a due diligence assessment of this donation and decided that it should be returned," he said in a statement.

In August 2007, then NSW premier Morris Iemma was forced to deny he'd had discussions with Dr Ho about a possible second casino for NSW when the pair met.

Two months later, the NSW government signed a $100 million deal maintaining the monopoly enjoyed by Sydney's Star City casino.

Federal Special Minister of State John Faulkner said Labor wanted to ban all overseas donations, but the coalitions had refused to play ball.

"I have a bill in the parliament to do just that that has been blocked so far by the Liberal Party," he told ABC radio.

Senator Faulkner said if the Liberal Party was "fair dinkum" it would join the government to change the laws governing donations.

Opposition accountability spokesman Michael Ronaldson said there was something fishy about NSW Labor accepting money from Dr Ho, but the national party rejecting a donation from his wife.

"If there was something wrong with Dr Ho's wife's donation to the federal national party, if there was an issue there, why was it then OK for the NSW division of the Labor party to accept massive donations," Senator Ronaldson told ABC Radio.

NSW Liberal Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell has backed Senator Faulkner's call for restrictions on political donations so only Australian citizens can provide money to parties.

Senator Faulkner's proposed changes to political donations and disclosure laws includes lowering the threshold to $1,000.

Donors of amounts above the threshold must record their identity.

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