WA Labor’s election war chest has grown towards $250,000 courtesy of donations from high-profile businesses, while WA’s peak resources lobby group has given The Nationals a big boost.
WA Labor’s election war chest has grown towards $250,000 courtesy of donations from high-profile businesses, while WA’s peak resources lobby group has given The Nationals a big boost.
Two donations worth a combined $25,000 from the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA to The Nationals WA headline the latest political donations disclosed under state transparency laws introduced in July.
The donations, of $10,000 and $15,000, were each made on July 17 – following on from a $2,272 gift from the CME to the regionally-focused Nats on July 4.
The cash injection will be a welcome boost to the state’s official opposition, which is lagging in disclosed donations compared against the might of WA Labor and the WA Liberal Party.
The Nationals WA have raised a touch over $30,000 in disclosed donations since July 1, a drop in the water compared against WA Labor’s $225,520 raising over the same period.
Including just over $25,000 donations to Perth Trades Hall, the Labor-associated entity based on a building currently occupied by the state branch of the embattled Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union, the Labor movement has raised more than $250,000 since the start of the month.
The largest of those donations remains a $25,000 injection from the CFMEU, which has been the subject of scorn from the opposition but is backed by WA Labor leaders.
The CME also ranks highly on the list of Labor donors, having given $16,500 to the party, below property developer Hesperia, which gave $16,700 on July 12.
Most recent donations to WA Labor include $6,600 from Woodside Energy; $4,400 from Sydney-based Fitzpatrick & Co Advisory, led by former McGowan campaign advisor Eamonn Fitzpatrick; and $3,800 from Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue.
Another entity associated with the Forrest family – The Peepingee Trust – donated $15,000 to the party earlier in the month.
The Australian Hotels Association gave Labor $2,750, while the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies donated $4,255. Rare earths explorer Victory Metals gave $3,850.
While performing slightly better than the Nationals, the WA Liberal Party is also lagging behind Labor.
The Libs have raised $57,888 in disclosed donations since July 1 – most notably an $11,500 donation from Perdaman, alongside smaller cash injections from contractor Maca ($4,500), Pact Construction ($4,500) and Programmed Facility Management ($8,250).
Perdaman donated $8,800 to WA Labor earlier in the month.
The Greens WA has received just one $25,838 donation – from the national branch of the party.
The tallies for the first month under the new weekly donation disclosure laws are likely to rise further, with listings current to July 24.
The next state election will take place on March 8, 2025. Parties will be required to disclose their donations by the end of the following business day during the official election campaign period.
