Newly released Australian Electoral Commission disclosures show the major parties reported $417.2 million in donations and other receipts in 2024 to 25, up 58.2 percent on the post 2022 election figures, with $129.6 million, about 31 percent, coming from undisclosed sources, the dark money problem that voters only get to see after they vote. 
We walk through the biggest chequebooks, including Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer, major individual and corporate donors, and the role of third party campaigners like Advance Australia, which reported $13.5 million in receipts while disclosing sources for only $5.2 million, leaving about $8.3 million untraceable, alongside pro climate fundraising vehicle Climate 200 and its donor base.
Michael West established Michael West Media in 2016 to focus on journalism of high public interest, particularly the rising power of corporations over democracy. West was formerly a journalist and editor with Fairfax newspapers, a columnist for News Corp and even, once, a stockbroker.
