Australia is a parliamentary democracy. This means that we elect various representatives to make decisions about the laws and policies that run our country. The fact that we can vote them out of power every four years motivates them to act with our interests in mind. Political donations can interfere with this, however. This is because the politicians might be concerned they won't receive a handout next year if they do not serve the donor's personal interests. Political donations also provide donors with direct access to ministers. An example is getting plenty of time to speak to them over a fundraiser dinner. This lets donors influence the government in ways not available to regular Australians.

The vast majority of donation money comes from large companies, and in the case of the Labor Party, unions too. Aside from Clive Palmer, who donated $84 million to his own party, top donors for the 2019 election include Sugolena Pty Ltd, who donated $4 million to the Liberal Party; Pratt Holdings, who gave around $1.5 million across both major parties; and the Australian Hotel Association, who have previously lobbied against poker machine reform and gave $500,000 to the Coalition and $800,000 to Labor. With so many large donations, many experts are concerned about the influence these companies hold over our politicians.

Donations under a specific monetary value do not need to be publicly disclosed. In 2021-22 this value was $14,500. However, this is per branch of the party, not the overall amount donated. Suppose one were to donate $14,500 to the national and eight state/territory branches of a political party. In that case, contributions of up to $130,500 could be given without it needing to be disclosed. The high threshold and potential for loopholes mean that around half of the private funding for the major political parties remains a secret. There have been calls to change the system, including a 2020 bill introduced by Senator Jacqui Lambie, however reform is yet to embaced by the major parties. 

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