The Donation Pipeline

Fossil fuel companies donated $3.98 million to Australia’s two major political parties in a single financial year. The Coalition got $2.92 million. Labor got $1.06 million. Both got enough to notice.

This is where that money went. Who wrote the cheques. What happened after. And the people who moved from government offices to company boardrooms.

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The numbers, party by party

The 2024-25 financial year donor returns, published by the Australian Electoral Commission, show fossil fuel interests spreading money across both sides of politics. Not evenly. But strategically. (Source: AEC Donor Return 83250)

Labor received:

• Chevron: $85,000
• INPEX: $76,000
• Santos: $63,000
• Woodside: $53,775
• Tamboran: $55,000
• Plus smaller amounts from other oil, gas and mining interests

Total to Labor from fossil fuel companies: approximately $1.06 million.

Coalition received:

• Minerals Council of Australia: $762,000
• Adani/Bravus: $621,500
• Hancock Prospecting: $204,000
• BHP (via Cormack Foundation): $380,000
• Tamboran (via Laneway Assets and direct): $66,000
• Plus smaller amounts from other resource industry donors

Total to Coalition from fossil fuel companies: approximately $2.92 million.

Climate Integrity, which tracks fossil fuel political donations, documented the full breakdown in February 2026. Their analysis covered direct donations, associated entity transfers, and disclosed donor returns. (Source: Climate Integrity, February 2026)

The AEC disclosure threshold means donations below $16,900 do not appear in these figures. The real numbers are higher. We will never know by how much.

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Woodside: 25 days

This one is specific enough to count the days.

Woodside Energy donated $53,775 to the Labor Party. Twenty-five days after the federal election, the Albanese government approved an extension of the North West Shelf gas project until 2070. The North West Shelf is Australia’s largest gas processing facility, located on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia. It processes gas from offshore fields and has been running since 1984. The extension gives it another forty-five years. One of the largest fossil fuel approvals in Australian history.

Woodside had been seeking the extension for years. The timing of the approval, so soon after an election in which the company donated to the winning side, is a matter of public record. Whether the two events are connected is not something this article asserts.

It is something a reasonable person might wonder about.

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Adani/Bravus: $621,500 and a secret royalty deal

Adani, rebranded as Bravus Mining and Resources, donated $621,500 to the Liberal-National Coalition. This is one of the largest single corporate political donations in recent Australian history.

In August 2025, the Queensland government finalised a royalty deferral arrangement for the Carmichael coal mine. The details of the deferral, including the amount deferred and the repayment terms, were not publicly released. The deferment was not announced in a press release. It appeared in budget papers as a line item, identified later by analysts.

$621,500 in political donations. A royalty deal finalised months later. The specifics of the deferral remain undisclosed. The company has not publicly commented on the connection. Neither has the LNP.

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Tamboran: $169,500 and $1.5 billion of your money

Tamboran Services donated $169,500 across both major parties in 2024-25. $55,000 to Labor. $66,000 to the Nationals via Laneway Assets. The remainder to the federal Liberal Party and NT branches.

Tamboran also stands to benefit from significant public investment:

• $1.5 billion in federal equity funding for the Middle Arm Industrial Precinct, a proposed industrial hub on Darwin Harbour in the Northern Territory, announced in the 2022-23 budget
• 170 hectares of exclusive land allocation at the taxpayer-funded precinct for a proposed LNG plant
• A board stacked with connected political figures

The $1.5 billion has not been drawn down. Infrastructure Australia has not approved the business case. The Northern Territory and federal governments disagree on whether the funding should be structured as equity or a grant. The money exists on paper. It has not flowed. But the commitment exists, and Tamboran’s position at the front of the queue is locked in. (Source: ABC News, April 2025)

Lock the Gate Alliance described the arrangement plainly: “This publicly-funded facility will exist to artificially prop up a Northern Territory fracking industry.” (Source: Lock the Gate Alliance)

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The revolving door: who went where

The following career moves are drawn from public registers and corporate disclosures. Each is legal. Each is disclosed. Presented together, they form a documented pattern.

Ian Macfarlane was the minister for industry under Howard when Port Stanvac refinery in Adelaide closed in 2003. He held the same portfolio under Abbott when Bulwer Island refinery in Brisbane closed in 2015. Two governments. Two refinery closures. No intervention either time. He later joined the board of Woodside Energy, one of Australia’s largest oil and gas companies. (Source: Woodside Annual Report 2023)

Martin Ferguson was the resources and energy minister who told the House of Representatives in 2012 that the Clyde refinery closure in Sydney was “a commercial matter for Shell.” He subsequently joined the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association as an adviser. APPEA is the peak lobby group for the oil and gas industry. (Source: APPEA, 2014; House of Representatives Hansard, 2012)

Andrew Robb was the Liberal trade minister from 2013 to 2016. Upon retiring from parliament, he took an $880,000 per year consultancy with Landbridge Group, a foreign-owned company that holds the 99-year lease on the Port of Darwin. He is now on the board of Tamboran Resources. The same Tamboran that donated $169,500 to both parties and stands to benefit from $1.5 billion in federal infrastructure funding. (Source: Tamboran Board of Directors)

Scott Sheffield was appointed to the Tamboran board in July 2025. He is the former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, which was acquired by ExxonMobil for $64.5 billion. His son, Bryan Sheffield, is a billionaire Tamboran shareholder. Energy sector analysts have described the appointments as consolidation of control by the Sheffield family. (Source: Tamboran Board of Directors)

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What the money bought

No one is alleging a specific quid pro quo. Australian politics does not work that way. There is no receipt that says “donation for policy outcome.”

But the pattern is there, and it is public:

• Fossil fuel companies donate to both parties every year
• The party that wins approves projects, extends licences, defers royalties, allocates infrastructure funding
• Ministers who made those decisions later join the boards of the companies that benefited
• The tax structures that allow these companies to pay near-zero tax remain unreformed
• The refineries that closed on their watch stay closed
• The fuel prices that result from 20 years of inaction keep rising

Critics argue the money does not buy a vote. It buys access. It buys a seat at the table. It buys the assumption that when a decision needs to be made, the industry’s perspective is in the room.

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What we don’t know

The AEC disclosure system has gaps.

Donations below $16,900 are not disclosed. Associated entities like the Cormack Foundation (which channels money to the Liberal Party) can bundle donations in ways that obscure the original donor. Philanthropic arms of resource companies can make donations that do not appear in fossil fuel donor tallies.

BHP’s $380,000 via the Cormack Foundation is disclosed. The Cormack Foundation is a Liberal Party associated entity that channels donations from corporate donors to the party. How much BHP donated below the threshold, or through other channels, is not.

Climate Integrity noted in their analysis that indirect donations via associated entities, philanthropic arms, and sub-threshold contributions mean the real fossil fuel political spend is “significantly higher than what appears in donor returns.”

We do not know how much higher. We know the direction.

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The other side

Political donations in Australia are legal and operate within a disclosed framework. The system is, in that sense, working as designed.

Companies in every industry - banking, telecommunications, healthcare, gambling - donate to both major parties. Fossil fuel companies are not unique in this regard. Industry engagement with government is how policy receives input from affected parties. Resource companies employ thousands of Australians and argue they deserve a voice in regulation that affects their operations.

The Woodside North West Shelf extension had been under regulatory review for years before its approval. The timing of the decision, 25 days after the election, reflects a process that predated the donation cycle. Correlation in timing is not evidence of causation.

Ian Macfarlane joined the Woodside board years after leaving politics, not during his ministerial term. The cooling-off period between his government service and the board appointment was observed.

Labor, which received $1.06 million from fossil fuel interests, also approved major fossil fuel projects during its term. The Albanese government approved the North West Shelf extension, supported the Middle Arm precinct funding, and did not block the Tamboran drilling programs. Both major parties have consistent records of approving resource projects, regardless of which companies donated to whom.

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The way forward

Several policy changes have been proposed by transparency advocates, crossbench MPs, and parliamentary inquiries to address the concerns raised by donation patterns:

• Lower the disclosure threshold from $16,900 to $1,000. This would bring Australia closer to the standards in Canada and the UK, where low thresholds mean most donations are visible to the public.
• Ban donations from companies with government contracts above a set value. Companies bidding for or holding large public contracts would be barred from political giving, removing the perception of taxpayer money cycling back to political parties.
• Real-time donation disclosure. Australia currently publishes donor returns annually, meaning donations made during an election campaign are not visible until months after the result. Real-time reporting would let voters see who is funding campaigns before they vote.
• Cooling-off periods of 3-5 years before former ministers and senior public officials can take board positions or advisory roles in industries they regulated. This is standard in several OECD countries and would create a clear separation between policy decisions and post-political employment.
• Cap total political donations from any single industry sector. Rather than limiting individual donors, a sector-wide cap would prevent any one industry from dominating political funding.

None of these proposals have been adopted by either major party.

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The AEC returns are public. The ministerial registers are public. The board appointments are public. The policy decisions and their dates are public. What connects them is not a secret. It is just not something anyone in the system has an incentive to point out.

The next story in this series examines how those same companies structured their finances to pay virtually no tax on billions of dollars in Australian revenue. The donation pipeline fed the political system. The tax structures emptied the Treasury. Same companies. Same people. Same policy outcomes.

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Sources

Donations and political funding

• AEC Donor Return 83250 - Fossil fuel donations FY2024-25 transparency.aec.gov.au
• Climate Integrity - “Coal and Gas 2025 Election Donations” (February 2026) climateintegrity.org.au

Woodside and NW Shelf

• Woodside donation amount: AEC donor return 83250
• NW Shelf extension approval: WA Government and federal environment minister statements, June 2025
• Woodside Annual Report 2023 - Ian Macfarlane listed as board member woodside.com

Adani/Bravus

• Adani/Bravus donation amount: AEC donor return 83250
• Queensland royalty deferral: Queensland Treasury budget papers, August 2025

Tamboran and Middle Arm

• Tamboran donation amounts: AEC donor return 83250
• Middle Arm funding commitment: Australian Government Budget 2022-23
• ABC News - “Middle Arm industrial hub funding doubts” (April 2025) abc.net.au
• Tamboran Board of Directors (Andrew Robb, Scott Sheffield, Dick Stoneburner) ir.tamboran.com
• Lock the Gate Alliance - “Tamboran’s Middle Arm land allocation proves $1.5B in federal funds were always intended as a fracking subsidy” lockthegate.org.au
• Infrastructure Australia - Middle Arm business case status: not approved as of April 2026

Revolving door

• Ian Macfarlane - Woodside board membership: Woodside Annual Report 2023
• Martin Ferguson - APPEA advisory role: APPEA announcements 2014
• Andrew Robb - Landbridge consultancy ($880K/year): Senate Register of Interests, 2016
• Andrew Robb - Tamboran board: Tamboran investor relations page above
• Port of Darwin lease - Landbridge Group: Parliamentary Library brief 2025-26

Disclosure gaps

• AEC disclosure threshold: $16,900 for 2024-25 financial year
• Cormack Foundation: AEC associated entity register
• Climate Integrity analysis of indirect and sub-threshold donations: climateintegrity.org.au link above

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This is the fourth in a series investigating Australia’s fuel security crisis. The first story, Sold Down the River, examined the current diesel crisis. The second, Six Refineries. Nobody Said Stop., documented every refinery closure and the ministers who let them happen. The third, Immigration: Follow the Money, traced $579M in immigration spending. The next examines how the same companies structured their tax affairs to pay virtually nothing on billions in Australian revenue. Woodside, Ampol, Viva Energy, BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Tamboran Resources, Adani/Bravus, and the Albanese government were not contacted for comment prior to publication.