The Morrison government and the federal Labor opposition received significant funding from the fossil fuel industry last financial year, with new data showing at least $1.15 million in donations flowed into the major political parties from groups linked to the oil, gas and coal industries.
On Monday, the Australian Electoral Commission published the latest batch of political donation data, covering the 2020/21 financial year, showing that the gas industry has poured significant funds into the major parties.
Analysis of the donations data undertaken by RenewEconomy shows that at least $1.15 million in political donations were made by fossil fuel companies. It is a similar amount to the $1.3 million in fossil fuel donations provided in the year prior.
The Coalition was the largest beneficiary, with the Liberal Party receiving $440,745 in fossil fuel donations, the Nationals receiving $123,991 and the Queensland LNP netting a further $109,415. Combined, it sees the Coalition receiving almost $675,000 in donations across the 12-month period.
Federal Labor also received a significant amount of funding from fossil fuel groups, receiving at least $473,854.
According to the disclosures published by the Australian Electoral Commission, the Australian Greens received no donations from fossil fuel linked companies.
For the period, the largest fossil fuel donor was oil and gas giant Woodside, donating a total of $232,350, which included $108,350 to the Labor party, $82,000 to the Liberals, and $42,000 to the National party.
Pro-coal lobby group, the Minerals Council of Australia, was also a significant donor, providing $64,660 to Labor and a combined $129,283 to the Coalition parties.
Oil and gas lobby group APPEA, which recently called on the Morrison government to provide more support for CCS projects, donated $107,010 – with $31,650 going to Labor and $75,360 going to Coalition parties.
Santos donated $66,000 ($44,000 to Labor and $22,000 to the National Party), while Chevron donated $74,650 ($38,750 to Labor and $35,900 to the Coalition).
In a bit of a twist, the disclosures show the federal Labor Party also receiving $25,000 from Beetaloo gas exploration and drilling company Empire Energy.
The controversial venture, which has strong links to the Liberal Party, has been the subject of significant scrutiny after receiving almost $21 million in grant funding from the Morrison government to fund its drilling operations in the Beetaloo Basin.
Last year, Labor refused to back a Greens sponsored motion in the Senate, that would have effectively cancelled out the $21 million in grant funding, instead opting to refer the grants to the Australian National Audit Office for further scrutiny.
Just before Christmas last year, the Federal Court ordered the grant funding contracts be voided, after concluding the decision to award the grants was unreasonable, as the federal Government had not fulfilled model litigant obligations during a legal challenge.
The disclosures show Empire Energy donating $40,000 to the Liberal Party, which is in addition to $4,500 the company paid to attend a fundraising dinner with federal energy minister Angus Taylor.
It appears that no renewable energy companies, or clean energy groups, made reportable political donations in the year.
Senior campaigner for 350 Australia, Shani Tager, called for a ban on political donations from fossil fuel companies, given the potential influence the significant flow of funding may have on government decision making.
"Gas companies are some of Australia's biggest political donors and are the recipients of massive public subsidies from the Government. It's clear that money is talking," Tager said.
"There should be no room for fossil fuel companies in our politics, but instead they're bankrolling the major parties to try and shore up their future. Companies like Woodside Energy are trying to buy support for their controversial gas projects like the disastrous Scarborough project in WA."
"It's time for all parties to rule out donations from fossil fuel companies so that community voices can be heard, and we can get on with addressing the climate crisis," Tager added.
The latest release of donation data covers the financial year ending 30 June 2021. Details of donations made in the current financial year, which will relate to donations made in the lead up to the next federal election, are not expected to be released until February 2023, at least eight months after Australians cast their vote.
With lax disclosure requirements, in part due to a requirement that only donations above the disclosure threshold, set at $14,300, needing to be disclosed, more than one-third 38 of income declared by political parties came from sources that remain unknown.
Australian Conservation Foundation's democracy campaigner, Jolene Elberth, echoed the call for donation reforms, including a lowering of the disclosure threshold, to ensure more public visibility of the groups funding political parties.
"More and more we are seeing corporates report their donations while the parties don't disclose where the money has come from," Elberth said.
"For example, the Liberal Party didn't declare any of the money it received from Chevron or from oil and gas lobby group APPEA and the WA Liberals didn't declare any Woodside donations. The companies declared them."
"Clear and simple reforms could be enacted today to improve integrity and make the system more transparent. Caps on donations, a lower threshold for revealing donations and more regular disclosures would vastly improve the integrity of our political system," Elberth added.
