Miners dig deep to get Coalition over the line
Peter Martin
February 2, 2012

MINING companies and mining industry associations spent in excess of $8 million on political campaigning during the election year of 2010-11, much of it donated direct to the Liberal and National parties.

The spending, revealed yesterday by the Australian Electoral Commission, comes on top of $22 million spent the previous financial year on donations and campaigning against the proposed resource super profits tax.

The Minerals Council of Australia and the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies spent just over $5 million on what the electoral commission defined as the ''broadcast of political matter''.


They spent another $1 million on the printing, production and publication of political material.

Heading the mining donors was Queensland magnate Clive Palmer whose companies sent $959,000 to the Liberal and National parties. Queensland Nickel was the largest individual donor to the Liberal Party, contributing $500,000.

The electoral commission figures appear to show no mining dollars going to Labor.

The tobacco industry was similarly one-sided, although in its case that was because Labor has stopped accepting its donations. British American Tobacco and Philip Morris sent a combined $264,000 to Coalition parties, much of it in small parcels, the most intriguing of which was a donation of $999 to the South Australian Liberal Party.

The Alliance of Australian Retailers, itself funded by Philip Morris, Imperial Tobacco and British American Tobacco, spent $9 million on political advertising. Imperial Tobacco and Phillip Morris spent another $4.7 million.

Attorney-General and former health minister Nicola Roxon challenged Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to declare when Parliament returns that the Coalition would no longer accept donations from big tobacco.

Pubs and clubs spent almost $2 million as they launched a campaign against poker machine reform. The Coalition received the bulk of the funds, but the Labor Party was supported too, although the size of the donations was smaller.

Some donors were near impeccably even handed. The movie maker and cinema operator Village Roadshow donated $352,336 to the Labor Party, becoming its biggest single donor. It also sent $327,788 to the Liberal Party.

The National Australia Bank sent $166,738 to Labor and $172,000 to the Coalition. Westpac sent about $55,000 to each.

Manildra Group, an ethanol producer, donated $238,800 to Labor and $335,300 to the Coalition.

The Greens secured the biggest single donation - $1.47 million from Graeme Wood, the founder of the Wotif hotel reservations service.

Among the largest donors to Labor were the Electrical Trades Union ($330,914) and Hong Kong Kingson Investments run by Chinese property developer Chau Chak Wing ($250,000).

Labor raised $92 million in 2010-11, the Liberals $98 million, and the Nationals $14 million. The Greens raised $13 million.

Each party went deeper into debt to fund the election. Labor's debt blew out from $11.8 million to $15.8 million. The Liberals' debt grew from $11.8 million to $15.5 million, the Nationals' debt from $1 million to $2.9 million and the Greens' debt from $460,000 to $831,000.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/miners-dig-deep-to-get-coalition-over-the-line-20120201-1qthc.html#ixzz1lAPOPTh3

I have never been so worried about the future as I am now.The implications of what is happening in front of our eyes, is becoming terrifying.

The people are losing control. The Liberal Government will always have power.

Quote:


It concerns me to think that mining companies can just BUY the policies they want.
Before the Lib fanboys jump up and down thinking this is just an attack on the Libs, I would point out that we have also seen deals with Labor and big business interests in the past too, and I think that was also wrong, so the question is just how should political parties be funded, and to what extent should we allow advertising in political campaigns?

I know we have seen dodgy leaflet campaigns from both sides in the past, where they lie to promote false beliefs in the electorate, like Batchelor did in Melbourne many years ago, and the Sydney guy did with his anti-muslim leaflets a few years ago, and to my mind, neither was sufficiently punished, especially Batchelor, who went on to become a State Labor Minister, but always remained as a "Dishonest" man, in my mind, and a stain on Labor's ethical standards as well.

I think that we should make all media subject to licensing agreements, whereby they must provide free space to political parties, as a part of their deal, and any extra time must be strictly controlled.
I appreciate that would also cause some issues, and so some refinements would be necessary to make the process as fair as possible, and just because it will be difficult does not mean it should not be tried.

If we don't do something, we may as well just stop having elections, and just auction off government to the highest bidder.

longweekend58 wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2012 at 7:37am:



Well YOU may not want to read between the lines of what YOU are help creating by voting for Corporations.

If we don't do something, we may as well just stop having elections, and just auction off government to the highest bidder.


That was done at the last election. Wilkie, Windsor, Brown and Oakshot.

mozzaok wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2012 at 7:39am:


and didnt the Unions 'buy' their own industrial policy in the 2007 election and since? Fair Work is a joke with 'fair' beng the last description you would use.

longweekend58 wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2012 at 11:55am:




didnt see your reply longy... and as for FAIWORK its a bloody disgrace and does any lefty complain about it... NEVER yet look at what they complained about with WORKCHOICES>..

two faced and double standards one for the left and one for the rest of us..