1 February 2023
The Big 4 consultancy firms are amongst the biggest corporate donors to the LNP and the Labor Party over the last financial year. Together, PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG donated almost $860,000 to the two major parties.
PwC donated more than $246,000 to the major parties in 2021-22 and received Government contracts worth almost $600 million in the same financial year.
PwC was embroiled in a scandal in recent weeks after a senior partner, now no longer with PwC, was deregistered as a Tax Agent after sharing confidential information obtained while being consulted by the Australian Tax Office on changes to the tax system.
“These political donations are more than just a case of you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,” said Greens Finance Spokesperson, Senator Barbara Pocock. “It’s more like you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours and give you a Maserati!” She said.
“We’ve got to have a close look at the whole regime of outsourcing government work to private consultancy firms.
“What confidence can Australians have in companies who make large donations to political parties and then receive major government contracts?” Senator Pocock asked.
“There are obvious conflicts of interest when the firms you hire as consultants are also major donors to your political party,” she said. “We need to regulate political donations so that Australian voters can be confident that there are no conflicts of interest amongst companies taking Government contracts.
“Without such action how can Australians be confident that our democracy is not for sale?” Senator Pocock said.
Last week Senator Pocock called for a review of the Government’s use of consultants and wants Labor held to its promise to reduce spending on external consultants.
