From the SMH:
The big four banks outweighed the mining sector in corporate donations to the major political parties in the lead-up to last year’s election, while the Labor Party was ahead overall in the fundraising stakes by nearly $3 million on June 30 last year.
Australian Electoral Commission data show the Labor Party’s total receipts were ahead of the Liberal Party at the close of the 2012-13 financial year, at $13.8 million to $11.4 million. The Liberal Party was also in slightly more debt as it geared up for the 2013 federal election campaign.
The Cormack Foundation, a Victorian-based group that fundraises and invests in the stock market on behalf of the Liberal Party, received a total of $3.3 million in donations from corporate Australia in the 2012-13 financial year and gave $1.5 million to the party.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia gave a combined total of $938,600 during the financial year to the foundation, while National Australia Bank gave $616,693 and Wesfarmers gave $484,364.
The next-biggest donor to the Liberal Party after the Cormack Foundation was Roslyn Packer, wife of the late Kerry Packer, with a $570,000 donation.
Westpac Banking Corp gave the Labor Party its biggest single donation of $1.5 million, followed by a second donation of $750,000 and a third of $500,000. Poultry group Inghams Enterprises was the party’s second-biggest corporate donor with $250,000.
