The source said after the strong contributions to Labor from such organisations as activist group GetUp and the unions, "there's a view that the more conservative side of politics is not getting the same support from those companies."

"He was very testy on this point and has been since the election," the source said of Mr Turnbull.

"He's just determined to pursue anyone who should be putting their hand in their pocket. He's had the shits since the election.

"Our view was why would we give you money," a view he said was especially prevalent among the bankers who have been hit with the $6 billion bank tax and who do not directly donate to political parties.

Mr King said "no political party is blameless or has no skin in this issue" of the current energy problems. Brook Mitchell

Needing each other

Another source said "a lot of businesses chiefs are saying there's a lot of things that haven't been favouring of big business".

"There hasn't been support for big business why would we support the government on anything?"


One participant said such dinners between the Prime Minister and business leaders were not unusual and on Monday night "there was a recognition by both sides that they need each other to succeed".

There was universal support for the company tax cuts and a reaffirmation from business that the government must persist with trying to legislate the remainder of its plan which, by 2026-27, would deliver a company tax rate of 25 per cent for all corporations.

"He's just determined to pursue anyone who should be putting their hand in their pocket," one source said of Mr Turnbull. LUKAS COCH

The government has so far managed to squeeze through the Senate the first few phases of the plan that will deliver a tax cut for firms with annual turnovers capped at $50 million.

Another source familiar with Monday night's soiree said some left satisfied, others infuriated.

"There's concern about some of the policy direction. Bits of the conversation were certainly robust.".

The Prime Minister argued "business needs to do more, to be out there more, to speak out more, but he's been saying that for a long time".

Bank culture â from the way banks sell products to the way they assess risk â is the big issue in regulation. David Rowe


"We still believe that the government has the stronger economic agenda.

"The concern is we need to work together around income growth, business investment and what will accelerate that.

"The message from business was strong support for broad economic issues but clearly there are issues like the bank tax that people are not happy about."

Energy solution

Mr Turnbull's attempts to reforms energy policy were also discussed at length.

The Prime Minister argued "business needs to do more, to be out there more, to speak out more, but he's been saying that for a long time". AAP

"He's looking for a way through. Business wants to be part of the solution, particularly on energy."

The imposition of the bank tax infuriated not only the big five banks that were hit with the impost but alarmed the broader corporate community, which feared profits had now become justification for a revenue-starved government needing to balance the budget.


When the South Australian government imposed its own bank tax during last month's state budget, the BCA vented its anger at the Turnbull government, saying it had "let the genie out of the bottle".

One senior member of the business community and a BCA member said after the dinner that Mr Turnbull's demands for donations were "naive".

As a former treasurer of the Liberal Party, Mr Turnbull knows how hard it is to get money out of donors, he said.

"They have got to have something to invest in. It's not like here's our money and we're going to back you."