Australian billionaires pour funds into parties ahead of election

Joining Gina Rinehart in making donations to Australia’s two largest political parties - the center-left Labour Party and the Liberal National Coalition - were pro-Trump billionaire Anthony Pratt, the Climate 200 grouping founded by businessman Simon Holmes a Court, and real estate billionaire Harry Triguboff.

By Ben Westcott

Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart increased her donations to the center-right Liberal National opposition by more than 200 per cent in the most recent political contribution data, as the country’s billionaires bet big on both major parties ahead of a national election that is due by May 17.

Joining Rinehart in making donations to Australia’s two largest political parties - the center-left Labour Party and the Liberal National Coalition - were pro-Trump billionaire Anthony Pratt, the Climate 200 grouping founded by businessman Simon Holmes a Court, and real estate billionaire Harry Triguboff.

But one noticeable absence is mining tycoon Clive Palmer, who donated millions of dollars in the past two election campaigns to his own United Australia Party.

The new donations data, released by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on Monday, come ahead of a national election campaign which is expected to begin within weeks.

The disclosure period covers July 1 2023 to June 30 2024 and shows donations of more than A$16,300.

Hancock Prospecting

Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting Ltd. donated A$500,000 ($307,800) to the center-right parties in the states of Queensland and South Australia, as well as the Northern Territory.

That’s a big jump from the company’s donations in the previous financial year, where Hancock contributed A$150,000 to the federal Liberal Party coffers.

Rinehart has made no secret of her support for Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton and US President Donald Trump. The Australian billionaire was a guest at Trump’s election night party in November, and at a recent Christmas party she was seen on a YouTube video bopping along to a reworked Christmas jingle - “All I Want For Christmas Is To Make Australia Great.”

A spokesperson for Hancock Prospecting said that they wanted to see a government “more attuned to Australians and acting in the best interests of Australians.”

“We are concerned about the future when investment are flowing overseas and the industry that earns more revenue than all others combined, 80 per cent of their project pipeline is now no longer proceeding, largely due to bureaucracy, excess regulations, and difficulty in getting approvals,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Anthony Pratt

Billionaire Anthony Pratt, executive chairman of packaging company Visy Industries, donated a total of A$1 million to the governing Labor Party, matching his donation from the previous financial year.

Pratt, worth $11.6 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, is one of the most vocal supporters of Trump among the Australian elite, and gave $10 million to the MAGA Inc. political action committee.

Pratt has even said that he will move to the US in the wake of Trump’s win, where he can enjoy his membership of the US president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

A spokesman for Pratt didn’t immediately respond to a request to comment.

Climate 200

In the 2022 election, this group backed a number of centrist professional women to run against prominent members of the then-center right government.

The most recent donation data shows that Climate 200, founded by businessman Simon Holmes a Court, is gearing up for the 2025 election, donating more than A$470,000 to the same independent lawmakers it helped across the line in the previous poll.

Australian investors Marcus Catsaras and Rob Keldoulis donated about A$1 million each to the political grouping, which stands broadly for further action on climate change, political integrity and economic liberalism.

Billionaire real estate developer Harry Triguboff’s Meriton Properties donated almost A$600,000 to the center-right Liberal Party and its state devisions in the past financial year, a sizeable contribution but a fraction of his A$17.8 billion net worth.

It’s a big increase on the A$100,000 donated by Meriton to the Liberal Party in the financial year ending June 2023, as well as a noted political change from the past when the developer has split its contributions between the Liberal and Labor parties.

Meriton didn’t immediately respond to a request to comment.