Between 1998 and 2022, successive federal governments granted environmental approval for major projects owned by companies that made a total of $54.8m in political donations to the LNP and Labor.

The ‘Lock the Gate’ report uses publicly available data from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and data about projects covered by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) to calculate the total donations made by companies that received environmental approvals over the 24-year period.

Fossil fuel companies were among those who made significant donations and received project approvals.

• Woodside and Santos donated nearly $3m each to Labor and the Coalition during the period.

• Santos projects received eight federal environmental approvals, and Woodside projects received nine federal environmental approvals during this time.

• Coal companies, including Adani, Whitehaven, and Glencore, collectively donated $3.1m dollars over the 24-year period and received 24 project approvals under the EPBC Act.

• Lobby groups representing the interests of mining companies, such as the Minerals Council of Australia and NSW Minerals Council, collectively donated to the two major parties as well.

According to report author and Lock the Gate coordinator Han Aulby, “Our analysis shows [that] proponents are donating millions while their projects are being assessed.”

This creates a public perception that assessments are not independent and undermines Australian democracy.

Donors vs approvals 1998 – 2022 (1)

(1) Companies that donated more than $100,000
(2) Include delegated approvals via NOPSEMA
Source: Lock the Gate report, September 2024

Due to the up to 18-month delay in donation disclosure being reported to the AEC, more recent data is not available. However, there is little to suggest that donation practices and their effects on approvals have changed.

So far, the Albanese government has approved or extended at least nine fossil fuel projects and two carbon capture projects since taking office, many to the same companies, sorry donors.

Yet another review

The Senate inquiry into the Albanese Government’s proposed National Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is due to report next week. This is just one of many iterations of reviews, starting with the ‘Samuel Review‘ published in October 2020. Four years later, the many recommendations in that review have yet to be implemented.

Tanya Plibersek announced the establishment of the EPA  in April this year but declined to commit to a timeframe for changes to the EPBC Act.

Han Aulby said the “Albanese Government’s watered-down EPA proposal was a band-aid solution that would not fix deeper structural problems with Australia’s environment laws. The Government’s proposed EPA is already too weak to be effective, and now the Prime Minister has said he is going to weaken it further.”

We need strict controls to stop damaging projects and integrity reforms that limit political donations.

It’s a sentiment echoed by University of Melbourne Professor Joo Cheong Tham, “The Samuel Review found a lack of public trust in the EPBC. Looking at these donations, it’s easy to see why. The Federal Government urgently needs to reform the EPBC Act to rebuild trust and ensure decisions are free from corporate influence.”

Too little, too late?

The Samuel review stated in blunt terms, “The EPBC Act is ineffective,” and recommended sweeping reforms of environmental standards, making the Commonwealth focus on the nation’s core environmental responsibilities, integrated with state bodies.

Samuel also stressed the importance of  integrating reforms with Indigenous Australians, highlighting how the EPBC Act “does not meet the aspirations of Traditional Owners for managing their land.” It’s a good example of where The Voice to Parliament would have been useful, but that ship has already been wrecked.

Despite its aspirations to meet ‘Net Zero’ targets, the Albanese Government continues to thread a careful path between the economic interests of its donors and the need for real action to meet those targets. These targets cannot be met without dramatically shifting our energy production and usage away from fossil fuels towards renewables – starting now.

Kim Wingerei

Kim Wingerei is a businessman turned writer and commentator. He is passionate about free speech, human rights, democracy and the politics of change. Originally from Norway, Kim has lived in Australia for 30 years. Author of ‘Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change’.