Familiar faces dominate the top echelon of political donors in the last financial year, with climate activists continuing to bankroll the teals and packaging king Anthony Pratt tipping $1 million into Anthony Albanese’s campaign fund around the time he attended a Katy Perry concert at Pratt’s house.
The Australian Electoral Commission on Monday morning released data showing the money raised and spent by Australian political parties and campaign organisations for the 2023-24 financial year.
Investors Rob Keldoulis and Marcus Catsaras were the strongest backers of the teals last year, donating more than $1 million each to Climate 200 and making them the joint-biggest donors in the country.
Rob Keldoulis was the top donor to Climate 200, the Simon Homes a Court founded initiative that supports teal candidates.Credit: Steven Siewert
Pratt, the Visy chief who has got behind Donald Trump’s campaign, gave $1 million to the Labor Party in January 2024. The next month, he held a private event at his Raheen mansion at which Perry performed to a crowd of influential business and political leaders including the prime minister. At the time, this masthead reported Pratt’s hosting of the event would likely coincide with a donation.
As they gear up for an election year, the Liberal and Labor parties and their state branches raked in more than $64 million each, nearly an identical amount. Labor’s national office took in $15 million compared to the Liberal’s $11 million.
Climate 200, which funds the teal movement, received $5.9 million.
These figures include donations as well as public funding from the AEC and some other types of payments that are not donations.
Other figures rounding out the top ten donors include mathematician and long-time Greens donor Duncan Turpie who gave more than $900,000 to the Greens and $300,000 to Climate 200. William Taylor Nominees, a private company directed by venture capital investor, James Taylor, gave $533,000 to the teal movement; First Australians Capital gave $500,000 to GetUp!, Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting gave $500,000 to Coalition parties, Climate 200 provided $432,000 to teal MPs, and the Pharmacy Guild donated $402,000 to various branches of both parties.
