THE Liberal Party continued to accept donations of at least $100,000 from tobacco giants in the lead-up to the recent federal election, latest disclosure figures show.
But the Labor Party still enjoyed a $10 million advantage over the Coalition with donors and unions contributing to its biggest-ever pre-election war chest.
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Australian Electoral Commission returns show that Labor had amassed $66.5 million in party coffers including $15 million from donations for the 2006-07 year, compared with $45 million for the Liberals and $9.8 million for the Nationals.
The Labor Government has vowed to scrap a rule introduced by the Howard government, which enabled the identity of hundreds of donors to remain hidden in last year's returns.
Under that rule only donations greater than $10,300 have to be disclosed. Previously the threshold was $1500.
While Labor has banned donations from tobacco companies, the Liberal Party had no qualms in accepting $50,000 each from British American Tobacco and Philip Morris Ltd.
Unions continued to be big contributors to the ALP, donating $1.5 million to the end of the financial year.
The AEC figures record donations only up to June 30 last year and it's likely donations grew in the lead-up to the poll.
According to a Liberal Party analysis of AEC returns, the ACTU spent $10 million on its separate campaign in the lead-up to the election, while individual unions spent another $10.8 million.
The Greens led the minor parties with $4.6 million in donations, compared with the almost defunct Australian Democrats with $232,800.
Corporate Australia was most generous to the Liberal Party, with Westfield donating $225,000, Richard Pratt's Visy $200,000, billboard giant Independent Outdoor Media $198,900, Inghams $100,000, and Adelaide Brighton Cement donating $125,000.
Virtual office space company Sovori Limited gave the Liberals $300,000, while Chinese-Australia Investment Company the Kingold Group donated $250,000.
But there was also corporate donations to the ALP, with $258,000 coming from Westfield, Meriton Apartments donating $100,000, Village Roadshow $100,000, Tabcorp $80,000, ANZ $75,000, Westpac $43,500.
Alternative fuel company Manildra, previously a big donor to the Nationals, gave $150,000 to Labor last year.
In the state sphere, Labor's biggest individual donor was state Upper House MP Evan Thornley who coughed up $237,000.
Details released by the AEC yesterday show the Victorian Labor branch raised $11,364,979 during 2006-07.
State Liberals raised more money, collecting $12,578,474, with the biggest donors being Liberal-linked fundraising organisations. Enditem
