Mike Steketee The Australian
BUSINESS people who needed to see a politician used to ask for an appointment and hope for the best. These days, they have an alternative: they can shell out $5000 or $10,000 to guarantee a spot near the front of the queue. Political parties hit on the idea of selling access to ministers years ago and it has grown like topsy, driven by the arms race that election spending has become. There is the mass fundraising approach, where mere hundreds of dollars can buy you a seat with others at a table with a minister. At the other end of the spectrum is the selective approach, where an intimate dinner for a few with a heavy political hitter starts at $5000. In the Howard years, the Liberal Party took their fundraising on to the open market, auctioning off opportunities such as a jog with Tony Abbott or a harbourside walk with Philip Ruddock. Read more here
