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Opinion

Aaron Patrick

When political donors back power over principle

Companies involved in sensitive projects, or seeking big government contracts, often feature in lists of political donors.

Aaron PatrickSenior correspondent

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One of the unusual developments of Donald Trump’s presidency, from an Australian perspective, was the ability of a cardboard recycler from Melbourne to ingratiate himself with the president of the United States.

Anthony Pratt offered his backing before Trump won the White House in 2017, and did not let the president forget.

Anthony Pratt, then-prime minister Scott Morrison and then-US president Donald Trump at a Pratt factory in Ohio in 2019. Alex Ellinghausen

“My early support resonated with Trump, who takes things very personally, and he remembers it,” Pratt said at a Jewish National Fund fundraiser in Melbourne in 2019.

“He read about it. I made sure of it.”

Access to the president was presumably useful for Pratt’s US manufacturing businesses. Trump’s support for Israel, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, also pleased Pratt, who is Jewish.

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If his Democrat predecessor, Barack Obama, had done as much as Trump, “most American Jews would have hailed him as the Moshiach [the Jewish messiah]” Pratt said.

Power over principle

Back in Australia, according to data disclosed on Wednesday, Pratt was one of the most generous donors to the Coalition and Labor parties last financial year, continuing a trend of giving generously to both sides of politics.

Despite his stated admiration for a populist right-wing president, Pratt’s domestic donations leaned slightly left this year. Pratt Holdings gave the Labor Party $1.96 million and the Coalition $1.7 million, according to an analysis of the Australian Electoral Commission data.

There may be an obvious conclusion to draw from the contradiction: big donors favour power over principle.

Election after election, companies involved in politically sensitive projects or seeking big government contracts turn up as large political donors.

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Before the last election, Adani Australia and Santos dug deep for the political class. Adani, of course, operates Australia’s most contentious coal mine in Queensland. Santos is desperate to drill a new gas field in northern NSW, against relentless climate opposition.

Santos’s gas project in NSW faces political opposition. Rhett Wyman

Resources companies have a long history in politics. When consulting firms donate more to the Labor Party than some trade unions, something weird is happening.

KPMG, EY, Deloitte and PwC gave the Labor Party more than $240,000 last year. The national office of the Australian Workers’ Union, which regards itself as one of the party’s founders, gave $149,000. (Overall, unions gave $16.7 million to state and federal Labor in 2021-22.)

Last year, the value of outstanding federal government contracts to the four accounting firms, plus Accenture, was calculated at $1.28 billion by The Australian Financial Review, based on AusTender contract tracking system.

It is worth noting the ultimate purpose of any political party donation is to secure politicians paid jobs.

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If companies believe political donations will provide them a commercial advantage, there is a perception government risks being corrupted.

Which might be a matter for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s new National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Aaron Patrick is the senior correspondent. He writes about politics and business from the Sydney newsroom. Email Aaron at apatrick@afr.com

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