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Canberra Today 15°/16° | Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Labor gets a big lick of cash, Electoral Commission figures reveal

OF all political parties, the biggest political donation, $600,000, went to ACT Labor, the latest disclosures show.

The donation from Labor’s investment trust, the 1973 Foundation, is almost as much as the total amount of contributions last financial year to the Canberra Liberals at $731,828.76.

The contributions are revealed in the 2019-20 ACT financial disclosure returns of ACT political parties, members of the Legislative Assembly and associated entities, released by ACT electoral commissioner Damian Cantwell today (September 7).

All up, ACT Labor received $1,785,759.91 in contributions, with an additional $240,000 also given to Labor by the 1973 Foundation as a “gift of money”.

The largest contribution to the Canberra Liberals came from LJ Hooker Commercial, which contributed $197,861.73 in “other receipts”.

Some of Labor’s big donations came from union groups with the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, giving a “gift of money” worth $57,500, $6667 worth of free facility use, about $6400 in receipts and an $80 “gift in kind”.

ACT Labor received more than $29,000 in free facility use at Canberra Labor Club, Canberra Highland Society, the Statesman Hotel and Ainslie Football Club.

The Liberals received more than $6000 in free facility use from the Viking Group, Raiders Club at Weston, Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club, Canberra Deakin Football Club and the Belconnen Soccer Club.

ClubsACT contributed $3539.80 in “gifts in kind”, while chief executive Gwyn Rees donated $1500. Other cash donations from businesses include Maliganis Edward Johnson, Maxwell & Co Lawyers, Sun and Sea Australia and Seears Workwear.

The biggest individual donations to the Liberals came from Liberal Party member Craig Edwards and his wife Eva, who, collectively, gave $50,000.

The biggest individual donation to the ACT Greens was from Downer’s David Gibson, who gave a “gift of money” worth $6920. The ACT Greens received $114,376 in “gifts of money”. Overall, they received $385,990.42 worth of contributions.

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