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But where things are getting very interesting, and where there are many more money trails to follow... is in Queensland. The $5000 price tag for a meeting between Australian Water Holdings and Campbell Newman is just the tip of a very big iceberg.
As outlined in an article on the Independent Australia website... political donations that led to favours, contracts or legislative changes included -
- a $150,000 donation from Paul Darrouzet, - a week later the Queensland LNP granted approval to dredge 100,000 to 200,000 cubic metres of material from his Airlie Beach marina (in an area close to the Great Barrier Reef)
- Auscript donated $2000, and its CEO donated $10,000 to the LNP prior to winning the court reporting tender. It has been reported that costs have since risen dramatically and quality has been reduced.
- $75,000 donated by Karreman quarries which was followed by the passing of retrospective legislation that benefited the donor.
- Beyond Billabong donated $5500 to the LNP a week after being awarded a lucrative contract to run a boot camp near Ingham (their tender was twice that of rival bidders and the Attorney-General’s Department had recommended a cheaper bidder)
- Belgian company Sibelco made an undisclosed donation of $90,000 to fund a misleading letter-writing campaign directed at Premier Newman’s electorate of Ashgrove in 2012. Following this Sibelco sand mining lease was extended by 16 years (it was due to be terminated in 2019)
The other money trail worth considering is the one established by Joe Hockey's budget. All budgets send a message.. about what our priorities are and where we are headed, but sadly the latest budget is so confused that even Joe doesn't understand it... or what is perhaps more likely, it is so nasty, so ideologically driven, so regressive that Hockey doesn't want to explain exactly what it is all about.
As usual... Clarke and Dawe cut through all the BS.