Clive Palmer-owned businesses donated almost $26 million to Palmer United Party, AEC figures show

Updated

The Palmer United Party (PUP) received almost $26 million in political donations from businesses owned by its leader Clive Palmer in the 2013-14 financial year.

Figures from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) released today show Mr Palmer's company Queensland Nickel made the biggest declared contribution of $15.2 million, followed by $8.2 million from Mineralogy.

Mr Palmer himself declared a personal donation to his party of $101,833.

The PUP was registered in July 2013 and therefore 2013-14 is the first financial year an annual return has been lodged.

The federal election and Western Australia Senate re-run elections were held during that period.

Of the major parties, the Liberal Party's national and state divisions declared around $20 million from donors, while Labor was given $11.59 million.

The disclosures to the AEC show entities associated with the Liberal Party were their top donors.

The Cormack Foundation gave $4.26 million, Vapold Pty Ltd $1.5million and the Free Enterprise Foundation gave $1.25 million.

Individual donor Zi Chun Wang gave a total of $850,000 to the ALP National Secretariat.

Another big donor was property developer Australia Kingold Investment Development, which gave $600,000 to the Labor Party and $200,000 to the Liberal Party.

Healthcare company Paul Ramsey Holdings donated $550,000 to the Liberal Party and $25,000 to the National Party.

In total, the Nationals received $1.28 million and the Greens $1.88 million.

The AEC also reports the total receipts declared by political parties, which may include subscription fees or proceeds of goods sold in addition to donations.

Total receipts for the Liberal Party in 2013-14 were $125 million.

The Labor Party received $78 million, the Greens $21 million and the National Party $12 million.

Read the Palmer United Party's disclosure report for 2013-14 below.

Topics: political-parties, government-and-politics, federal-government, clive-palmer, australia, wa, qld

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