Political Pulse

Political parties own companies. Those companies hold property and investments and those companies then “donate” to the party which shows up in the data as a third-party donation, when it’s really the party paying itself.

Liberal Party

Vapold Pty Ltd, registered back in 1972, gave $2.64 million to the Victorian Liberals last year. Its shares are held through Liberal Asset Management (Custodians) Limited. Bunori Pty Ltd, registered 1986, gave $385,000 to the NSW Liberals and its historical ultimate holding company was the NSW Liberal Party itself. I showed you 281 Sandgate Road Properties earlier in this series, $3.4 million to the LNP, from a company at the party’s own front door.
Then there’s the Cormack Foundation, the Liberals’ investment arm, which has poured tens of millions into the party over the years from a managed share portfolio. The Cormack Foundation has paid Liberal and conservative entities $66,977,315 over twenty-seven years.

Cormack paid $4,700,000 to the Victorian Liberals and received $11,767,579 in itemised income. Vapold paid $2,640,975 and received $4,222,276. Labor Holdings received $6,240,929 and paid Queensland Labor $4,260,404. Those figures reconcile against the register to the dollar.

Climate 200

Is not a single entity that funds candidates. It’s a network of vehicles. One of them is called It’s Not A Race Ltd. Across the AEC’s disclosed history, It’s Not A Race has received:

• 2021-22: $588,500 from Climate 200 + $100,000 from Robert Keldoulis personally
• 2022-23: $56,505 from the Australian Taxation Office (likely a refund or rebate)
• 2023-24: $100,000 from Tripple Ventures (a separate Holmes à Court family vehicle) + $25,000 from Kirsty Gold + $20,000 from Heaps Normal Pty Ltd
• 2024-25: $798,395 from Climate 200 (across multiple tranches including $214K, $150K, $120K, $100K, $100K, $80K and several smaller)
  Lifetime total received: $1.69 million.

Climate 200 has channelled $1.4 million into a satellite vehicle called It’s Not A Race. The money goes in the money doesn’t come back out in any itemised political donation. What does It’s Not A Race do with $1.7 million? Operational campaign activity, advertising, content production are the likely answers that’s the structure of a campaign messaging arm. But the AEC register doesn’t tell you. Climate 200 doesn’t publish a breakdown.
$1.4 million of Climate 200’s outflows is going to one satellite vehicle whose actual activity isn’t itemised on any public register.

Cross party funding

Westpac has been giving to two or more parties in every single financial year since 1998-99, that’s 27 consecutive years of cross-party hedging. Westpac’s actual political donations are $735,000 to the Liberals and $649,253 to Labor. Commonwealth Bank has done the same for 26 of those 27 years (the only single-party year was 2007-08, Liberal-only).

– Pharmacy Guild — 24 years of cross-party giving across Labor, Liberal, Nationals and LNP QLD. $3.48 million in disclosed cross-party donations since 1998-99.

– Insurance Council — 17 years cross-party (Labor, Liberal, Nationals). $1.02 million.

– Minerals Council — 14 years cross-party across all four major parties (Labor, Liberal, Nationals, LNP QLD). $1.29 million.

– Medicines Australia — 19 years cross-party (Labor, Liberal, Nationals). $2.04 million.

Pratt Holdings spans 13 cross-party years and 4 parties. The Pratt Holdings corporate vehicle has hedged across LNP QLD, Labor, Liberal AND Nationals across 13 separate financial years for $3.99 million in disclosed cross-party giving.

Macquarie Telecom, gave to five party groups across 13 cross-party years. Greens, LNP QLD, Labor, Liberal and Nationals over 13 financial years for $1.50 million. One of the most ecumenical donors in the disclosure record, they genuinely don’t pick sides.

Labor Party

Labor’s largest donors are Labor. Labor Holdings $34,084,999. Labor Resources $15,200,000. John Curtin House $18,845,108. Progressive Business $7,584,472. That is $75.7 million from four entities the party owns, recorded as donations to itself, and there are more of them beneath those four.

Union Funding

Union money to the Labor Party across twenty-seven years is $155,998,540 on the register. Only $60,325,249 is classified as a donation. $86,109,443 is classified as “Other Receipt” — affiliation fees. $6,231,845 is subscriptions.

Affiliation fees purchase votes on the floor of the party conference. Money in, delegate strength out. It is the party’s own rulebook, published, and it has worked that way for over a century.

Union money to the Coalition across the same twenty-seven years is $77,084 in donations. Non-union money to Labor is $236,607,737, and to the Coalition $358,853,831. Corporate money dwarfs union money on both sides.

Labor Holdings has paid Labor entities $99,620,419 over 27 years.

The Greens

The Greens do have a small associated entity, The Green Institute Limited, that took in around $200,000 in 2024-25 and distributed about $100,000 in discretionary benefits. In 2024-25 The Greens federal organisation took in $36M total. They also receive funding from taxpayer funded Green ‘charity’ groups as well

Sources

– Vapold, Bunori, Cormack donation amounts: AEC Detailed Receipts → <https://transparency.aec.gov.au/AnnualDetailedReceipts> (search each name)

– Ownership structures: ASIC Connect (purchase extract) → <https://connectonline.asic.gov.au> — Vapold Pty Ltd (ACN 004 957 699); Bunori Pty Ltd (ACN 003 119 211); Liberal Asset Management (Custodians) Ltd (ACN 001 763 757)

AEC Transparency Register, Detailed Receipts 2021-22 to 2024-25 It’s Not A Race Ltd as recipient

AEC Transparency Register, Detailed Receipts dataset, 1998-1999 to 2024-25, filtered by Receipt Type; AEC Funding and Disclosure Reform summary

The Australia Institute, Electoral Reform Bill analysis, February 2025. AEC Transparency Register, Detailed Receipts 1998-99 to 2024-25 — Cormack Foundation $66,977,315; Labor Holdings group $99,620,419.

Australian Electoral Commission Transparency Register, Detailed Receipts dataset, 126,044 records, 1998-99 to 2024-25, filtered on Receipt Type = “Donation Received” and excluding electoral commissions, the Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Finance. Union to Labor: $155,998,540 all receipt types, $60,325,249 donations, $86,109,443 other receipt, $6,231,845 subscription. Westpac: $215,716,462 all receipt types across 710 lines, $3,996,155 donations. Commonwealth Bank: $231,712,413 all types, $5,013,277 donations. Cormack Foundation: $63,668,000 across three registered name variants