Political donations
$4.35m splurged on Brisbane council election for very little change
Across the state, more than $10m was spent on this year’s council polls. Search how much was expended in your area.
- by Cameron Atfield
Latest
Exclusive
State Parliament
One state is making ‘world leading’ changes to how money influences power. It won’t happen in NSW
NSW Premier Chris Minns says he won’t follow the lead of his Labor counterpart in South Australia by introducing a blanket ban on political donations.
- by Max Maddison
WA’s premier on the housing crisis, stamp duty … and cash-for-access dinners
Ahead of his anniversary as premier, WAtoday grilled Roger Cook on some of the more uncomfortable issues facing the government he’ll take to the next election.
- by Hamish Hastie
Exclusive
Sydney councils
The Labor HQ email that panicked local council candidates
A NSW Labor Party email has prompted a flurry of panicked correspondence from local officials ahead of September’s local government elections.
- by Max Maddison and Michael McGowan
Updated
Voice to parliament
Yes campaign groups received millions more in donations than No side for Voice referendum
The electoral commission has released figures detailing the sums received and expended by political parties and lobby groups involved in last year’s referendum campaign.
- by Paul Sakkal
Opinion
Voice to parliament
Big donating companies risk being seen as warriors for the woke
Why shouldn’t taking a stand (either way) on the Voice be seen as part of a company’s environmental and social governance responsibility?
- by Elizabeth Knight
Exclusive
Australian Council of Trade Unions
The unions want to cap corporate donors. They also want to remain untouched
The union movement has thrown its support behind Labor slashing super-rich corporate donors, but it says the funding caps shouldn’t extend to its trades halls.
- by Angus Thompson
Trump campaign fights for a million donations after bond flop
After 30 bond companies refused to pay Trump’s nearly $700 million ordered by the court, the text message was clear: “Keep your filthy hands off Trump Tower!”
- by Nathan Layne
‘Banning big money, just not theirs’: Teal MPs accused of seeking to protect wealthy donors
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and senior minister Don Farrell have turned their sights on a group of crossbenchers in a debate over big money in politics.
- by Paul Sakkal
Last hurrah for the big spenders? Inside Labor’s campaign reform balancing act
The election reform package would create a big change in how campaigns are funded and politicians engage in politics. But achieving consensus will not be straightforward.
- by Paul Sakkal
Opinion
For subscribers
No billionaire should be free to sink Titanic money into politics
Despite his $117 million buying a solitary Senate seat, the sheer scale of Clive Palmer’s advertising blitz set a template for any rich-lister who wants to sway an election result.
- by David Crowe