Hancock Prospecting spent $500,000 on donations to arms of the Liberal Party last financial year, in search of a government "more attuned to Australians".
Hancock Prospecting spent $500,000 on donations to arms of the Liberal Party last financial year, in search of a government "more attuned to Australians".
Federal political donations data covering 2023-24 revealed Hancock made donations worth $325,000 to the Queensland Liberal National Party, $100,000 to the South Australian Libs and $75,000 to the Country Liberal Party in the Northern Territory.
The Gina Rinehart chaired miner was among the largest political contributors nationally during the period and defended that position in a statement today.
A spokesperson for Hancock said the company wanted to see “government more attuned to Australians”.
Citing rising costs of living, Hancock sensationally called for lower taxes – including a scrapping of the fuel excise tax, as well as drops to payroll tax, stamp duty and license fees.
They sounded concerns over rising bureaucracy, excess regulation and approvals challenges, and said neither party had come to the fore on matters of defence or crime.
“However, there is a potential risk that with the closeness of the two major parties, a minority government, Labor-Greens or Labor-Greens-Teals may be Australia’s next government,” the spokesperson said.
Hancock said that result would likely lead to a return of the Nature Positive plan – which it said would result in more expensive and less reliable energy, quarantining of projects, higher housing costs and the conservation of “at least 18” snakes another dangerous species of animal.
The spokesperson said Hancock was concerned money would go offshore under a Labor minority government.
“A Labor-Greens government is likely to see the increase of foreign entities sending money into Australia to influence our governments and our lives, such as Oceans 5, Waverley Street Foundation, and the KR Foundation,” they said.
“To put it in perspective, the monies this patriotic Australian company may have donated politically out of concern for Australia and its future, are far, far less than the multi-millions these foreign entities have already poured into Australia.
“And far, far less than trade unions pour into the ALP.”
Hancock’s contributions were half that of recycling mogul Anthony Pratt – who gave $1 million to federal Labor, to top the list.
The pair’s domestic political allegiances appear polar opposites, but both Mrs Rinehart and Mr Pratt are known fans of Donald Trump – each took out newspaper ads in the US congratulating the now-president ahead of his inauguration last month.
While the WA Liberal Party did not make the list of Hancock’s donations to June 30 last year, Mrs Rinehart’s agricultural business S Kidman & Co gave the party $99,000 a month later – as disclosed in the state political contributions register.
The state political register requires more frequent reporting than the federal list, following legislative reform pushed through the parliament last year.
While the federal numbers reflect donations in 2023-24, they can be supplemented by more recent updates to the WA list.
Teal push
The national teal push by Simon Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 group was highlighted by $473,000 worth of donations to independents across the country, including almost $30,000 to Curtin MP Kate Chaney.
On the WA register, Fremantle candidate Kate Hulett became the fourth state independent to receive a $20,000 boost from Climate 200 late in January.
She joins Rosemarie de Vries in Nedlands, Rachel Horncastle in Cottesloe and Lisa Thornton in Churchlands as WA political candidates financially backed by the teal movement.
Resources spending
Diversified mining company Mineral Resources donated $126,500 last financial year, including $71,500 to the state Liberal party and $55,000 to the ALP.
The company – helmed by Chris Ellison – has since given close to $8,000 to the WA Labor Party, as well as a further $3,000 to the local Liberal branch.
A subsidiary of the Japanese LNG giant, INPEX Operations Australia gave close to $100,000 to various branches of the Liberal party last year, and $76,130 to the WA, NT and federal Labor parties.
Inpex has donated more than $18,000 to the WA Liberal Party since June 30, while also giving almost $14,000 to Perth Trades Hall – an entity associated with WA Labor.
Fellow gas producer Chevron gave $128,413 across the political spectrum, with more than half of that to the different branches of Labor nationally.
On the local level, it gave around $22,000 to each of WA Labor and Libs last financial year, though it has donated more than $6,000 to WA’s governing party since.
Woodside donated almost $80,000 to branches of Labor, the Liberals and Nationals across the country last financial year and has donated to Labor and the Nats in WA since.
Names of interest
Anacta Strategies – a firm led in WA by Mark Reed, who is earmarked to be the next state secretary of WA Labor – gave $102,350 to federal and New South Wales Labor.
State records show Anacta also gifted Perth Trades Hall $27,5000 in August last year.
Homebuilder Prime Projects Construction – which has branches in WA and Victoria – emerged as a major donor to WA Labor.
It gave $85,500 to the party last financial year and has donated a further $16,100 since.
ASIC records list Giuseppe Passione as the Malaga-based company’s sole director.
Jefferson Investments Pty Ltd donated $42,000 to the Liberal Party and almost $30,000 to Labor.
Jefferson’s sole director is Judith Parker, whose late husband Ken was a business partner to Kerry Stokes.
Mr Stokes previously owned a stake in Jefferson but has not done so for some years.
Jefferson gave $3,300 to WA Labor in September last year.
APM Human Services International was privatised in October, but in the previous financial year donated almost $150,000 to the two major political parties - $114,436 of which was given to Labor.
It does not appear on the state register this financial year.
Overall, the nation’s political parties raised $166 million last year, with the Coalition generating $74 million and Labor collecting $68 million.
The missing billionaire on this year’s list is Clive Palmer, who tipped in $117 million through his mining company Mineralogy to the United Australia Party in 2022.
On the state level this financial year, the WA Liberal Party has raised $2.24 million in donations and WA Labor has generated $1.99 million.
However, a compulsory party levy applied to Labor members has brought in a further $700,000, and affiliate fees charged to unions have generated $519,000.
Perth Trades Hall has received $457,209 worth of donations.
The WA Greens have raised $266,463 in donations since the start of July – more than $100,000 higher than the $163,481 raised by the Nationals.
