Apparently this is what has happened in these instances.”Guardian Australia cross-checked property records against donations made in NSW and found hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations had been hidden from planning authorities by 13 companies. After being contacted by the Guardian, the company acknowledged the error, committed to a full review of its past planning applications and referred itself to the NSW planning department. Other companies have previously been prosecuted for failing to declare payments to attend political party events. It has also recently improved disclosure processes to prevent “inadvertent failures” to declare donations, and prosecuted companies including AGL and Optus. Whealy said it would be preferable if corporations did not see it necessary to make political donations at all.

Source: The Guardian October 06, 2019 16:52 UTC