The Adani mining company donated about 50,000 Australian dollars to Australia’s ruling Liberal Party last year, new disclosures under that nation’s electoral laws show. The opposition Labour Party received a donation of 11,000 Australian dollars from the company.

The Australian Election Commission released its annual financial disclosure returns for 2013-14, which lists donations by individual and corporations to all of Australia’s political parties, on Monday. The Liberal Party, led by Tony Abbott, which came into power in September 2013, reported total receipts of 43 million Australian dollars for 2013-14, the documents show. The Labour Party reported receipts of 39.8 million Australian dollars.

When contacted by The Hindu on Monday, a spokesperson of Adani Mining Proprietary Ltd. declined to comment on the donation.

The company is excavating Australia’s largest mine in Queensland in the north-east of the country at an estimated cost of 16 billion Australian dollars. The Labour Party, which is now close to forming a government in Queensland following elections on Saturday, had campaigned on the promise of rolling back government support to the mine, which is estimated at 300-400 million Australian dollars.

While relatively sizable, the Adani donation is far from being the largest to the two parties, even among companies with roots overseas. A China-based donor listed as “Zi Chun Wang” gave two donations totalling 850,000 Australian dollars to the Labour Party, while British businessman Lord Michael Ashcroft donated 250,000 Australian dollars to the Liberal Party.

The Adani group is also a significant contributor to political parties in India. It donated Rs. 4.33 crore to the ruling BJP over the past eight years, as well as Rs. 3.15 crore to the opposition Congress, official disclosure data made public by the Association for Democratic Reforms show.
(The Hindu)