Would you spend close to $30,000 for a chance to rub shoulders with those in charge of Western Australia?
Or thousands to dine with a federal minister?
Those with cash to splash have been doing just that. And a legal loophole is protecting their identities — meaning we may never know who is paying for access to the highest levels of government.
It’s resulted in the state political arena being filled with “dark money” worth millions of dollars.
According to its annual returns, the WA Labor Party failed to declare the source of 75 per cent of the $6.7 million it received in the 2022-23 financial year.
And the Liberal Party isn’t saying where more than half of the $4.7 million it received came from.
Minor parties are equally opaque, with the WA Nationals not disclosing who contributed any of the $420,000 it raised last financial year.
While the WA Greens declared the sources of $243,000 it raised, it also listed $1.3 million as “other income”, although a spokeswoman confirmed most of this was from the Australian Electoral Commission.
Both major parties have fundraising enterprises that centre on lavish dinners, where a ticket literally buys you a seat at the government table.
Labor raised almost $1.6 million through its Labor Business Roundtable (LBR), which lets members attend intimate, catered events attended by senior members of government.
WA Labor assistant secretary Lauren Cayoun described the roundtable scheme as a “business engagement program” which provided participants with “opportunities to network and receive feedback”.
Other donations were made directly to the party, though donors were often reluctant to classify their contributions to party coffers as donations.
“Non-cash contributions” for “facilitating discussion and the exchange of ideas” was how consulting firm Deloittes characterised the money it gave
“We do not use political donations to gain favour with government or political parties,” a spokesperson said.
Fellow tax consultant EY said it contributed to Labor “as part of our engagement with policy makers”, but also denied its cash was a donation.
The Liberal fundraising equivalent is the invite-only 500 Club, which offers guests a chance to dine with federal ministers and raised more than $225,000, although no individual donors have been disclosed..
Party leader Libby Mettam has attended three of these events.
The only donations on the public record came from the Sir Charles Court Foundation ($157,000), and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia ($54,532 worth of “gifts in kind”).
Both parties justify the secrecy around donations by saying they’re complying with the law — but they’ve been able to file under Commonwealth legislation, which only requires payments of more than $15,200 to be disclosed, instead of $2,600 under the state legislation.
(ABC)
