The latest update to the Australian Electoral Commission's transparency register confirms that the major parties continue to take handouts from the same big corporations and dirty industries in exchange for access and influence.
Fossil fuel companies, gambling interests, pharmaceutical companies and the major banks and supermarkets continue to write cheques to Labor and the Liberals - while Australians pay the price with weak climate laws, stalled gambling reform, and rising cost of living pressures.
With analysis ongoing, some of the largest sources of funds for Labor from the 2024/25 data includes donations of $100,000 each from the Australian Hotels Association and the Pharmacy Guild, $82,000 from the Minerals Council of Australia, one of the country's largest fossil fuel lobbies, $130,000 combined from gambling companies Sportsbet and Tabcorp, and hundreds of thousands from major fossil fuel companies like Santos, Chevron, Inpex and Woodside, and the peaks that represent them.
Many of these payments are classified as "other receipts," a vague category that can allow corporations to buy access to events and forums where they can directly influence politicians.
This week, the Greens intend to reintroduce legislation to ban donations from industries that profit at the expense of the public good.
As stated by Greens Democracy Spokesperson, Senator Steph Hodgins-May:
"Once again, we see Labor getting cosy with the big corporations that are ripping off everyday Australians.
"While households struggle with groceries and rent, Labor continues to take hundreds of thousands of dollars in dirty donations from the very companies causing the cost of living crisis.
"Fossil fuel giants have bought their way into the heart of our government. It's why Labor's new nature laws ignore climate change -- they're protecting the billions they hand out to big polluters instead of protecting our planet.
"There's massive public support for real gambling reform but instead of listening to the families being ripped apart by gambling harm, it spends its time banking cheques from multinationals like Sportsbet and Tabcorp.
"If there was any doubt that Labor answers to big corporations, this is the latest receipt. It shows they prioritise the interests of Woolworths, Woodside and Westpac over the needs of everyday families.
"We welcome better donation disclosure, but sunlight alone won't stop these dirty deals. If we want a democracy that works for the people, we have to ban dirty donations altogether.
