In 2018-19, fossil fuel companies donated $1,897,379 to the ALP, Liberal and National parties. This was up 48% from $1,277,933 in 2017-18 ($968,343 in 2016-17, $1.03 million in 2015-16).

Yet given Australia’s reputation for woefully inadequate political disclosure and ‘dark money’ donations, the true figure could be 5-10 times higher. Like last year, we found big discrepancies between what the major political parties disclosed, and how much the fossil fuel companies claimed to have gifted.

Leading the pack in 2018-19 with $283,340 worth of largesse was Woodside Energy, followed by Adani with $247,300 and Mineral Resources with $167,000.

Check out the table below to see how much the other top 10 fossil fuel donors splurged, and explore the full list of industry donations further down.

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The table below lists donations made by fossil fuel companies to major Australian political parties in the 2018-19 financial year. What we found astonishing was not just the scale of donations, but the discrepancies between what donors and parties actually reported. The total discrepancy in reporting came to $834,279!

In a critical year for its climate-wrecking Carmichael coal project, Adani rocketed up the ladder to become the second-biggest fossil fuel donor in Australia, with some major donations to both the Liberal and National parties.

According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, a donation of $12,500 was made to the Liberal Party just a few days before the Federal Government ignored the concerns of scientists and rushed through approval of Adani's groundwater management plan. The next month, on the eve of the Federal election being called, Adani donated another $200k to the Liberal and National parties.

Meanwhile, in February Adani was fined just $20,000 for providing the Queensland Government false and misleading information about their land clearing.

The discrepancies in donations reported by donors and parties is the tip of the iceberg. Australia’s political disclosure laws are incredibly lax, so much so that in 2018 they were the subject of a Senate inquiry and a damning report by the Grattan Institute. The Centre for Public Integrity estimates that more than $100 million in donations were not disclosed in 2018-19, with the Liberal and National parties hiding about 40% of income and Labor hiding about 28% over two decades. The consequences of our pathetic legislation are many:

• Delayed reporting: learning about donations up to 18 months after they’re made
• Party and donor returns not reconciling
• Lack of standardisation of donor names
• Donations hidden in associated entities
• Donors can ‘split’ donations into small amounts that parties don’t have to disclose

All this adds to the ever-growing distrust that Australians have in our political system. It must be asked whether companies are making donations for access to politicians or to influence policy outcomes?

The tables below contain all donations we were able to compile for the 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 financial years. If you know of other donation sources, please send us an email at [email protected]