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Interesting links on Australian campaign finance


January 31, 2019

Here are links to some interesting stories and documents relevant to Australia's woeful system of campaign finance regulation and disclosure.

Page on the AEC website where the data is dumped

Bold NSW reforms which the Baird Government has vowed to pursue

2008 electoral funding green paper (102 pages) released by Rudd Government

John Faulkner "Light on the Hill" lecture calling for reform in 2014

2011 Parliamentary report (300 pages) into campaign finance and election campaigns

Senator John Madigan successfully forces another donations inquiry in October 2015

SMH editorial in October 2015 as Jeff McCloy challenged donations ban in High Court

All documents and video of hearings in 2015 High Court case challenging NSW donations ban

Dutch company cashes up WA branch of the MUA seeking industrial peace

Bill Shorten fails to disclose $40,000 Unibilt campaign donation in 2007

Brickworks dodges donations ban on NSW developers by going Federal

Stephen Mayne's 10 favourite historical donations stories

ALP reliance on revenue from pokies venues in Canberra

British Lord gives record $1m donation to John Howard in 2006

The Age splashes with details of $20,000 Clubs NSW donation to Kevin Andrews

Peter Costello leaves parliament, tries to retain control of $1m fundraising stash in Higgins

Failed insurer HIH a big donor which strongly favoured the Liberals

Rich Lister Rob Millner urges coal shareholders to vote Liberal

How Queensland laws revealed Packer's 250k for Bob Katter a week after funds were paid

Fairfax wrap on $22m mining industry campaign to remove Kevin Rudd

PM Tony Abbott use RAAF jet to attend birthday bash of 750k donor Paul Marks

How Graeme Wood's $1.6m helped Greens secure Senate balance of power in 2010

Useful Democracy For Sale website maintained by NSW Greens

Where are the balance sheets? Only churches get more disclosure concessions

Sinodinos as NSW Liberal Party Treasurer unaware of $72,000 donation by company he chaired

How Campbell Newman weakened Australia's best donations disclosure regime

After giving millions in the 1990s, Village Roadshow cranks up the donations again

ALP returns 500k from wife of Macau gambling mogul Stanley Ho

Labor's record 1999 fundraiser: who sat with who at huge 1999 $1000 a head dinnner

Graham Richardson advises billionaire Lang Walker over 100k donation during Kew Cottages tender

City of Melbourne's conflicts of interest register: unique in Australia with multiple donation triggers

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle vows to reveal donors before 2016 election

Westfield's 150k goes to NSW Liberalss through Federal foundation when developer donations banned

How Rich Lister Rob Gerard dodged tax, hid Liberal donations and made it onto the RBA board

Clive Palmer's 2013-14 return showing $28.7m in funding, including $15m from Queensland Nickel

The dark side of Dick Pratt: a top 5 Liberal donor of all time

List of past ICAC investigations: not much on campaign finance

ICAC's 2014 investigation into Australian Water Holdings which can big donations theme

ICAC's 2002 Rockdale investigation which recommended developer donations reform

Liberal Party donors with colourful connections and a successful visa application

Media Watch assesses Alan Jones attacks on Courier Mail over mining industry influence and donations

ABC's PM program covers opaque "other receipts" issue in 2008

Queensland independent Peter Wellington forces campaign finance inquiry on QLD Labor

Links to important campaign finance stories and documents after 2016 data dump at 9am on February 1

Comedian Charlie Pickering lampoons our woeful system

Lenore Taylor on the need for campaign finance reform

The Guardian's overall wrap of the figures

Incomplete ABC list of all donations

More comprehensive Crikey list of 2014-15 campaign finance figures


Crikey wrap on how Tony Abbott scared away donors

Fairfax's Adam Gartrell comes up with complete overall numbers

News Corp tabloid columnist Joe Hildebrand lampoons Stuart Robert

Mike Seccombe feature on dodgy finance in The Saturday Paper

The Herald Sun's Shaun Carney savages Scott Morrison for backing Stuart Robert

CFMEU mis-allocates $847,000 property sale to a fleet purchases

The World Today leads with donations data

Peter Lloyd on PM program exposes parties and donors in the bunker

The World Today goes hard and early about Stuart Robert on day the yarn breaks

Peter Van Onselen attacks all Federal politicians for rorting

Fairfax report on Nats taking tobacco cash

The Australian on Labor Holdings and the Cormack Foundation

Mayne in Crikey on why media is to blame for our campaign finance system

Greens leader Richard di Natale reluctant to criticise union donations

Neil Mitchell lacks substance on campaign finance reform

AFR on property donors: Westfield winds it right back

Mayne piece in Crikey on 6 juicy campaign snippets

Bernard Keane on why we are groping in the dark on campaign finance

The Australian ignores systemic flaws, editorialises against Clive Palmer

The Australian's Mark Coultan on NSW Libs and their $7m loan from Westpac

ABC online column on why donations data is so bad

How The Telegraph covered Palmer's campaign finance disclosures

Tassie Libs totally dependent on mainland financiers

Crikey piece on the stars aligning for campaign finance reform

Lots in the 20-30k range for Campbell Newman's failed campaign

Federal Liberal return discloses 100k from ANZ

Cormack Foundation gives Victorian Libs $4.4m in 2014-15