Fed: Political parties receive $130 million in 1998/99

AAP General News (Australia)
02-01-2000
Fed: Political parties receive $130 million in 1998/99

By Stephen Spencer

CANBERRA, Feb 1 AAP - Australian political parties received over $130 million in donations
and public funding in 1998/99, with Labor easily defeating its rivals on the back of huge
union contributions.

Australian Electoral Commission annual returns, released today, showed the ALP received
$61 million in total, the Liberal Party $49 million, the National Party $10 million and
Pauline Hanson's One Nation $6 million.

The ALP's performance was boosted by its NSW branch, which received $23 million towards
its 1999 landslide election win - a record for any single political organisation.

In contrast, the NSW Liberals were able to declare only $15.2 million and the Nationals
a mere $5 million.

The single biggest contribution to all parties was the taxpayer - with over $30 million
in public funding paid out by federal and state election commissions.

While the contribution from the taxpayer is based on the number of votes each party
receives, Pauline Hanson's One Nation is proportionally the biggest winner, with public
funding amounting to $3.85 million or two-thirds of its entire receipts.

The party also revealed that $2.6 million of its funding had been transferred to the
Pauline Hanson One Nation Trust.

This money is at the heart of the split within the party, with dissidents demanding
to know where it has gone.

The returns do not show where the $2.6 million has gone, other than to declare it has been spent.

However the party's accounts are far from complete due to the bitter party divisions,
with all branches in Queensland refusing to disclose their accounts to One Nation head
office.

"Frank refuses to surrender any books," is written in the margin alongside the Queensland
branch details.

The biggest single donations came from unions who poured millions of dollars into various
ALP branches through the year, and in particular for the federal, NSW and Queensland elections,
which were held during the period in question.

For the first time, the returns contain details of the Liberal Party front organisations,
the Greenfields Foundation and the Free Enterprise Foundation.

Greenfields again reveals it has been repaid a further $100,000 by the Liberal Party
of the $4.75 million loan advanced by Victorian party treasurer Ron Walker.

The accounts are also cross-linked, revealing precisely how generous companies are
to various parties.

Cigarette companies for example are generous donors to both sides, while Kerry Packer's
companies clearly favour the Liberals.

The Nine Network and Consolidated Press collectively gave $55,000 to the Liberals and
only $15,700 to the ALP.

AAP ss/ej/br

KEYWORD: FUNDING

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