If Malcolm Turnbull doesn't feel like repeating his million-dollar donation to the Liberal Party this year, someone obviously needs to fill the void.
Especially with Ros Packer fading away to nothing in the latest release of the annual political donors list on Wednesday. Just two years ago James Packer's mum was grabbing the headlines as our biggest political donor.
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Transparency, but not quite yet
Malcolm Turnbull says he supports the speedy publication of political donations - then declines to reveal his own donations made during last year's election campaign. Courtesy ABC News 24.
The good news is the Libs already have a billionaire on the books with a stellar record when it comes to backing the conservative cause.
And the man in question – Australia's most successful fund manager, British-based billionaire Sir Michael Hintze – has certainly shown an interest in the Antipodes during the past year.
![Ludde Ingvall and Sir Michael Hintze with the CQS yacht for the Sydney to Hobart race.](/web/20170201151653im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/g/m/v/4/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gu2vdx.png/1485954015413.jpg)
After successfully backing the campaign in favour of Brexit last year, Hintze celebrated by snapping up several cattle stations in Australia.
He also funded his cousin's recent entry in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and volunteered as a crew member to boot.
No wonder he had time to donate only $50,000 to the Liberal Party last year. Hopefully, that will change.
To put that figure in perspective, the man dubbed the "godfather of Tory donors" by the British press donated £1.5 million to the UK conservatives in 2014.
![Blackmores chairman Marcus Blackmore gave $15,000 to the Liberal Party, and another $15,000 to the Nationals.](/web/20170201151653im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/v/j/x/3/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gu2vdx.png/1485954015413.jpg)
With all this happening, it is a wonder he had time to actually run the multibillion-dollar hedge fund CQS, which is having a stellar year thanks to the volatility of Brexit and now Donald Trump.
"Mr Trump has always been an outsider," he said in a December interview with the Financial Times.
![Illustration: John Shakespeare](/web/20170201151653im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/3/g/7/n/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gu2vdx.png/1485954015413.jpg)
"All this suggests he that there will be market uncertainty and volatility about fiscal, political and trade policies which I believe will be good for active managers," said the former Australian army captain.
The only question is whether his donation to the Liberal Party an investment in further political instability.
Moneymakers
There were other names of interest on the donors lists for all major parties but the Libs get the lion's share, of course.
Vitamin king Marcus Blackmore popped $15,000 into an envelope for the Liberal Party, and another $15,000 for the Nationals, while Turnbull's old mates at the investment fund he founded, Pengana, coughed up $13,000 for his party.
Village Roadshow CEO Grahame Burke was obviously worried that the company was a little stingy with its $636,000 donation to various parties – he found another $50,000 in his pocket for the Libs.
It certainly won't do Village Roadshow's anti-piracy lobbying efforts any harm.
Also prominent on both sides of the political fence were Australia's three commercial TV broadcasters: Seven, Nine and Ten.
The networks were lining pockets on both sides of the political fence as they lobby intensively for the abolition of broadcast fees.
In 2014-15, the federal government collected $145.6 million in broadcast licence fees, so it is money well spent.
The only real surprise on the broadcast front was the fact that the minnow of the group, Ten, led the way with more than $100,000 of political donations. This was more than the amount spent by Nine and Seven combined.
Our broadcasters were not the only industry seeking a friendly ear in Canberra.
Bookies like the Tom Waterhouse-led William Hill, and rival Sportsbet, joined other traditional gambling operators like Tabcorp, Packer's Crown, and the Australian Hotels Association in showering money on our political masters.
Not that it has anything to do with the government's regulatory crackdown on online bookies, of course.
And where would we be without our property moguls.
Billionaire Harry Triguboff's Meriton plonked down $100,000 for the Liberal cause,
Another party stalwart, billionaire Lang 'Kokomo' Walker, was more generous with a $200,000 donation from his Walker Group.
Billionaire John Gandel's Gandel Group hedged its bets and donated $267,000 to both the main political parties.
Tony Abbott's pal – prominent Liberal Party donor Alf Moufarige –chipped in $50,000 via his corporate flagship, Servcorp.
Labor's donors list also had some interesting names in its ledger, like Ashok Jacob's Ellerston Capital.
It chipped in $55,000 under the "other" category. This means the payment did not technically meet the definition of a donation – which may have helped it pass muster with James Packer who still holds a significant stake in the company.
Village Roadshow's John Kirby was good for a $50,000 donation to the Labor coffers – balancing out Burke's donation to the Libs.
And the local outpost of "Aussie'' Ivan Glasenberg's commodities trader Glencore placed $30,000 with Labour and $15,000 with the faltering West Australian Liberal Party under the "other" category.
Former ad man Harold Mitchell weighed his donations in favour of the Victorian Labor Party with his $133,000 donation to Labor far outweighing his $43,000 contribution to the Libs.
And how could we leave out Gina Rinehart. Her flagship group, Hancock Prospecting, handed $58,000 to her buddies at the Nationals party last year.
Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au
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