Interstate donations to the Tasmanian Greens

Woodworker aka George Harris
IT seems the real story of political donations might be a little different than Tasmanian Greens leader Nick McKim and the Mercury’s political reporter, Sue Neales, might have us believe.
On Tuesday last week Nick McKim denied in the Tasmanian Parliament that the Susie Russell, the woman at the centre of controversial political donations, was a NSW Greens staffer at the time the donations were made.

This was taken up by Mercury reporter, Sue Neales, in her article on Wednesday, March 11, who claimed that the Attorney General and the state government had been wrong-footed when a ‘smear campaign’ turned out to be ‘untrue’.

However, a simple google search would have revealed that Susie Russell was a staffer at the time the donation was made. Susie Russell, and her fellow donor, Greg Hall, are directors of the Gladneys trust, through which the donations were made. They also are Vice-President and Secretary of the North Coast Environment Council. Susie Russell was also a Greens candidate in the 2008 by-election for the NSW federal seat of Lyne following the resignation of Mark Vaile.

The story is also being covered by the Launceston Examiner and the Melbourne Herald Sun. The Herald Sun attempted to contact directors of Gladneys, without response. A spokesman for the Victorian Attorney General, Rob Hulls, said the matter would be referred to the Victorian Electoral Commission, and from there it could be referred to the Australian Electoral Commission.

The assertion that the money was from a recent inheritance is a good story, but it is impossible to verify, and the claim that the true source of the funds is being disguised remains valid. The attraction of routing money through trusts and NGOs is obvious, as was damningly pointed out by Victorian Labor backbencher, Fiona Richardson. The following is an extract from the Hansard of the Victorian Parliament:

Greens: donations
Ms RICHARDSON (Northcote) — I draw the attention of the Attorney-General to comments made by the Tasmanian Deputy Premier and yesterday’s Herald Sun article which reported that tens of thousands of dollars in political donations to the Greens appear to have come directly out of the wilderness. I ask that the Attorney-General act immediately and investigate urgently the donations to the Greens to ensure that these donations comply with all the relevant laws.
Here we have a company, Gladneys Pty Ltd, registered at 611/530 Little Collins Street, in Victoria. The only sign of any activity or person occupying this address is a wall directory that states the occupant is FSCA Business Services Pty Ltd. There is no sign whatsoever of Gladneys. Australian Securities and Investments Commission records reveal that the company’s principal place of business is actually 330 Glenwarrin Road, Elands in New South Wales.
*** DAILY HANSARD *** PROOF VERSION ONLY *** DO NOT QUOTE ***

A Google map search shows that 330 Glenwarrin Road is a bush block with no sign of any activity.
The company, via its trust called ITF Gladneys Trust, has made donations totalling $45 000 to the Greens in Tasmania. This constitutes the second-largest donation to the Tasmanian Greens. So here we have a company registered in Victoria, conducting business in New South Wales and donating to the Greens in Tasmania.
But there is more to be concerned about than that. The directors of Gladneys are Greg Hall and Susan Russell, who also happen to be the secretary and vice-president of the North Coast Environment Council.
Susan Russell also has strong connections to the Greens political party, having stood at the Lyne by-election and been a former staffer for a Greens MP. Clearly this raises some important questions for the directors of Gladneys, the North Coast Environment Council and the Greens political party. In their capacity as directors of Gladneys, the secretary and vice-president of the North Coast Environment Council have made donations totalling $45 000 to the Tasmanian Greens. Susan Russell has claimed that the money she has generously donated to the Tasmanian Greens has come from a recent inheritance, but currently we have no way of verifying this.
Unlike political parties, trusts are not required to provide the details of their income. Likewise, non-government organisations (NGOs) are not subject to the same scrutiny as unions, companies and political parties. Therefore NGOs may be vulnerable to becoming siphons for political party donations. Moreover, there are disclosure limits for political parties.
*** DAILY HANSARD *** PROOF VERSION ONLY *** DO NOT QUOTE ***

However, no such limits apply to organisations like the North Coast Environment Council and all donations are fully tax deductible. Given the number of environmental groups, some of which receive public funds directly from state and federal governments, the question is: are the Greens receiving donations in ways other political parties are simply unable to? Often in this Parliament and elsewhere the Greens have championed the need for greater transparency of political donations, a concern I share, but they are strangely silent on this kind of transaction.
An inquiry by the Legislative Council is currently taking place and the circumstances of these donations are relevant to that inquiry. Similarly, the federal government is investigating reform of the disclosure of political party donations. In the meantime, I call on the Attorney-General to investigate urgently the circumstances surrounding these donations

…………………………………….

Well, there you have it. Not only does the Victorian Electoral Commission and most likely the Australian Electoral Commission have something to look at, but the Tasmanian electorate has cause to look beyond the squeaky-clean image of the Greens parliamentary leader, and the ABC’s Mediawatch might have something else to add to its dossier on our local star political reporter…