Christian Kerr
THE Greens received almost $27,000 from one foreign source alone for the federal election, before agreeing to ban foreign donations.
News of the gift, revealed in a list of donations to the Greens of $1500 or more last year and published on their website yesterday, has prompted fresh accusations of Greens hypocrisy over campaign finance.
It follows revelations last weekend that the Greens received $1.6 million from online travel entrepreneur Graeme Wood — the largest individual donation in Australian political history — to pay for campaign advertising, despite demanding a ban on gifts worth more than $1000 from individuals.
Yesterday’s list shows hard-left trade unions were the Greens’ biggest organisational donors, with both the militant construction union CFMEU and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union donating $30,000 to the party. The plumbing division of the Communications Electrical Plumbing Union gave a further $10,000.
News of the funding prompted a concerned response from the construction industry.
“The Greens are calling for the abolition of the building industry watchdog,” Master Builders Association of Victoria head Brian Welch said.
“I don’t know whether that is their own innovation or whether it follows the donation of money from the CFMEU.”
The biggest personal donor after Mr Wood was Women’s Electoral Lobby stalwart Ruth Greble, who gave $9000 to the party. The Greens say other political parties will not reveal their donations until February next year, when the Australian Electoral Commission publishes the regular returns for the 2010-11 financial year.
But opposition spokeswoman on electoral matters Bronwyn Bishop accused the party of posturing. “They say they want overseas donations banned, yet take them,” she said. “They complain big donations will influence parties, yet they take them.
“What they always want to do is curtail everybody else to try to make up for the fact that they do not enjoy major support across the electorate.”
The overseas donation came in kind from New Zealand company Fuzion Aotearoa, which recast the party’s online presence ahead of the August 21 poll.
Fuzion also optimised the donation and membership functions on the Greens’ website.
Postcard advertising company Avant Card gave $16,466 in in-kind support to the party.
And Hobart lawyer Roland Browne, who has defended anti-pulp mill protesters including former ABC TV host Peter Cundall, donated $4000.
Source: www.theaustralian.com.au
