The phrase "follow the money" is used so often when discussing politics and donations that it has almost become a cliché.

But when it comes to West Australian politics, it is a task much easier said than done.

This week the financial returns following the March state election were released, detailing how much parties spent and giving some information about donations made to individual candidates.

But for every question those returns answer, there are many others which remain a mystery for the voting public.

The returns do not reveal the sources of the funds received by the parties, only describing in vague terms what the money was spent on.

For example, the returns released this week reveal the amount of money spent by candidates on consultants, but say nothing about who they hired or the nature of their work.

Who exactly donated to the parties and the amounts given will not become clearer for months when they lodge their annual returns.

In the case of lobby groups and unions, there are details about who donated to who, but only a vague description of when that occurred, limiting it only to a four-year window between the two elections.

Chamber spent $4m fighting mining tax

Some groups also just do not submit their returns when required, with the Chamber of Minerals and Energy the most obvious example this time in the wake of its campaign against the WA Nationals' proposed mining tax.

The chamber's return was belatedly lodged on Friday, revealing a staggering $4.36 million was spent on that campaign with mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto both contributing more than $2 million to the fight.

The mining industry launched a multi-million dollar campaign against the mining tax. ( ABC News: Emma Wynne )

Further confusing matters about the broader financial returns is that many are filled out in messy handwriting, making some virtually impossible to decipher on the WA Electoral Commission's website.

It is a similar story for the returns lodged by individuals who actually make it into parliament.

These are supposed to heighten transparency by revealing MPs' financial interests, but they are only updated annually and are often submitted in difficult to read handwriting, making them illegible once scanned and uploaded online.

Many long-term MPs simply state "no change" when asked about the property and shares they own and organisations they are members of, meaning any member of the public would have to search scores of documents to find the answer to any query they had along those lines.

Given the rapid technological improvements seen in recent decades, many would assume that someone who wanted to find which MPs owned shares in a company relevant to an ongoing issue could do so easily.

In reality that would take hours of painstaking research of the type few realistically have the time to do.

No excuse for lack of 'fairly major reform'

Crikey election analyst William Bowe said there was no reason for the system to be as slow as it is, pointing to Queensland as a jurisdiction that had made significant reform to ensure a more transparent system.

"There is absolutely no reason we are waiting around for the sunlight to come in and to know how the parties paid for their campaigns," he said.

"It's very easy to do an electronic disclosure and for that to be published through the internet, so there is no reason fairly major reform shouldn't be happening in this area."

Labor promised during the election campaign to create an online donation disclosure system to ensure information was released in a timely manner.

Treasurer Ben Wyatt this week acknowledged there was a desire for more access to election funding information.

"There is a great interest in who funds which particular party, so I think most people would support any way we can improve transparency around that," Mr Wyatt said.

The changes Labor promised in 2016 would also ensure all donations of $1,000 or more would have to be disclosed, down from the current $2,300.

The returns released this week provided some interesting nuggets - from the drying up of the Liberal Party's fundraising sources to the union movement's huge spend to elect the McGowan Government - but plenty of close political-watchers would be keen to get more information more quickly.