The Palmer United Party donations include nearly $6 million from besieged Queensland Nickel, which recently shed 237 workers just before going into voluntary administration.
Palmer’s mining company Mineralogy also donated $3.6 million to PUP, annual financial disclosure returns released by the Australian Electoral Commission on Monday show.
The Liberal Party was the biggest recipient of donations in 2014/15, reaping $75.9 million compared with Labor’s $65.8 million.
The Nationals received $11.2 million, including $10,780 from tobacco giant Philip Morris, while the Greens took in $9.4 million.
It was almost $100 million less than the previous year, in which a federal election was held and donations usually peak.
Palmer’s now closed Coolum resort gave the party $191,113, with $7775 coming from Palmer Leisure Pty Ltd.
Palmer himself donated $2000.
Treasurer Scott Morrison said Palmer, the member for the Queensland seat of Fairfax, was running “a very shabby show”.
“It’s all fallen apart. It’s all gone down the path that I think some of us always thought it would,” he told 2GB radio.
“There’s a warning in that: if it’s too good to be true it usually is and what he was promising and what he was saying … I think has been laid bare now.”
The biggest single contributor to Labor was the investment vehicle Labor Holdings ($2.8 million).
However, individual unions were significant backers and the peak body the ACTU chipped in $2.16 million for “political expenditure” including research, television advertising and other election-related material.
The Liberals received large donations from Brunswick Property ($600,000), software company Parakeelia ($500,000), Paul Marks ($325,000), Pratt Holdings ($200,000), Coles Group ($165,000) and Woodside Energy ($127,000).
– AAP
