As Australia’s major parties stitched together a deal on donation laws in parliament last week, a small group of well-heeled business leaders gathered for dinner at the Cahoots Bar, a short drive away across Lake Burley Griffin.
Before they arrived at QT Canberra’s private dining room, they walked past the hotel’s “political wall of power” adorned with portraits of former prime ministers. It all added to the sense of occasion.
Some had paid as much as $110,000 for an invitation. Others handed over up to $4,000 to secure a seat.
These people were members of federal Labor’s business forum, a professional networking and fundraising vehicle, who had helped bankroll the party in return for a two-hour “boardroom dinner”.
Invites billed the dinner’s star attraction as the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, newly returned from a diplomatic mission to Washington. But Marles appeared live on the ABC’s 7.30 program as the dinner was due to start and it is unclear whether he attended the event as advertised.
The money these private events generate does not have to be disclosed as political donations. That’s despite some guests believing they should be, and so they have done so voluntarily.
With an expensive election campaign looming, business leaders across Australia are being deluged with invitations to similar events. Invitations seen by Guardian Australia show the prime minister, senior cabinet ministers, the opposition leader and other Coalition figures will rub shoulders with well-financed figures in coming days.
On the day after the boardroom dinner at Cahoots, the Senate passed laws that require these tickets to be disclosed as gifts – but not until 2026. The amount of money that can be spent on campaigns will also be capped.
One senior government source told Guardian Australia that ministers and senior opposition figures would be thrilled to no longer have to attend these events in search of funds. But until their rivals stop, neither will they.
‘A special opportunity’
Labor’s business forum offers members a range of networking opportunities of varying value.
Guardian Australia can reveal the forum sent personal invitations for an exclusive, intimate dinner with Anthony Albanese at an undisclosed Sydney venue on 12 March. The dinner is capped at 10 people, and the cost is not disclosed. The evening has been described as a special opportunity to build a relationship with Albanese.
The prime minister is no stranger to these dinners, according to invitations issued by the forum. It charged members an additional $6,000 to attend a three-course boardroom lunch with him on 31 January in Melbourne.
One invite seen by Guardian Australia focuses on campaign financing.
“Can’t make it to the lunch?” the invite says. “Please consider making a donation … it will contribute greatly towards the campaign to re-elect an Albanese Federal Labor Government.”
Multiple sources, who have attended similar fundraisers but declined to be named to maintain good relations with politicians, say these kinds of dinners are usually sponsored by an organisation or a donor. In return, the sponsors can introduce the guest and secure a seat beside them or beside a key adviser.
Attendees pay a fee that helps reimburse costs.
Other invitations charge $3,000 for a 90-minute afternoon tea with the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, on Wednesday afternoon. Several other cabinet ministers will also attend boardroom meals with forum members this week.
‘A private dinner’
The number of Coalition fundraisers has also increased. As donors mingled at Cahoots, invitations show the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, was entertaining members of the Australian Business Forum, which raises money for the Liberal party.
Taylor was billed as a guest speaker providing an economic update at a two-hour event with drinks and canapés. The “host member” for the event was listed as the lobby group, Tech Council of Australia.
Peter Dutton is advertised as the special guest at a “leader’s private dinner” in Sydney on Thursday. The two-and-a-half hour event is sponsored by the Insurance Council of Australia.
And earlier this month paid members of the Nationals Policy Forum were invited to “an exclusive, private federal fundraising dinner” with the party leader, David Littleproud, the leader of the Nationals in the Senate, Bridget McKenzie, the party’s deputy leader, Perin Davey, and the shadow resources minister, Susan McDonald.
Two other Nationals were listed as “special guests” at a National Policy Forum boardroom dinner in Canberra at the very moment the donations laws passed the Senate on Wednesday, according to invitations.
‘We thoroughly disapprove’
While few in government are particularly fond of these events, transparency groups believe they damage faith in democracy.
The Centre for Public Integrity’s chair, Anthony Whealy KC, says he and his colleagues “thoroughly disapprove of these mammoth fundraisers”.
“The major parties’ raising of a further war chest in addition to what they already possess, to target this election, highlights the hypocrisy and shallowness of the legislation they have passed without due process, last week,” Whealy says.
Transparency International Australia’s chief executive, Clancy Moore, accuses the dinners of being an example of “cash-for-access” or “pay-to-play”.
“With the election on the horizon, it’s clear that the major parties are filling up their election war chests through these secretive fundraising events,” Moore says.
“The new 246-page electoral laws, which will only come into effect in the lead-up to the following federal election, does broaden the definition of ‘gift’ to include high-value fundraising dinners. But the $5,000 disclosure threshold and the fact that donors can make multiple individual contributions before their ‘entry fee’ is disclosed creates problems.”
All politicians mentioned in this story were contacted for comment.
The prime minister’s office and other senior ministers referred questions to the party’s national secretary, who did not respond before deadline.
Taylor’s office referred questions to the Australian Business Network.
For now, the long lunches continue.
