More than two-million-dollars has been donated to WA's political parties in the last three months, with the bulk going to Labor helping the party build its election war chest. New political donation laws which took effect earlier this year are giving an insight into how the major parties are funded with all donations above two-thousand-six-hundred dollars needing to be declared and published within seven days.
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TVTranscript
00:00Well, it's no surprise, Labor has out-earned all the other parties.
00:06The ALP's WA branch has disclosed $1.3 million in donations over the last three months, well
00:13ahead of the Liberals and miles ahead of the Nationals and the Greens.
00:17Most of the money is in the form of gifts, and even though the Liberal Party is ahead
00:21on cash gifts, Labor comes out on top because of the affiliate fees paid by unions, compulsory
00:27party levies paid by MPs, and money raised through its Labor Business Roundtable arm,
00:33which lets business people attend intimate events with senior members of government.
00:37Look, in relation to who donates and how they donate, that's a matter for the party, but
00:42political donations are a part of our political system.
00:47Companies are by far the biggest donors, and unsurprisingly, mining is the most giving
00:52sector responsible for about a third of all corporate donations.
00:56Big donors include Eskidman & Co, owned by Gina Reinhart, and the Chamber of Minerals
01:01and Energy, which split its money between the major parties.
01:05Facility Management and Maintenance Company Programmed, which has been awarded about 40
01:10government contracts over the last three years, gave to both Labor and the Liberals, while
01:14Perderman, which is building a multi-billion dollar fertiliser plant in the Pilbara supported
01:19by the WA government, gave $25,000 to Labor and $12,000 to the Liberals.
01:25Until we get that big corporate money out of politics, everyday people are going to
01:30get sold out.
01:31People donate to all sides of politics.
01:34It's always happened, and it happens across the nation.
01:37Before long, all this money will be put to use with the next election in March fast approaching.
01:42But being cashed up isn't everything.
01:45The party with the most money doesn't necessarily win, but the party with the most money has
01:51an advantage when it comes to advertising and promoting its policies and promoting
01:56its candidates.
01:57For Labor, the money adds to its massive head start.
02:00For the Liberals, it's essential to even catch up.