I have said before some Western politicians are smart they receive the corruption after leaving office, much harder then to use the word corruption.

The Grattan Institute points to clear warning signs government policy is sometimes at risk of skewing to rich and powerful interests because the political system entails significant financial dependence, cosy relationships and a lack of transparency.

"Powerful groups have triumphed over the national interest in many recent debates from pokies reform to pharmaceutical groups to toll roads and superannuation reform," the report said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-24/lobbying-gifts-jobs-relationships-and-donations-affect-democracy/10282852

** NOTE when you go down the page at the bottom of the pictures there is a little round circle with a ( v ) click on that to see what they got.

How they can get away with it.
Federal ministerial diaries are secret so there statistics from state
Minister. We have no idea who the Federal politicians are being influenced by.

State and federal political parties also openly sell access to senior ministers at fundraising events, although individual payments for these events are rarely disclosed.

Some companies also buy annual memberships to Liberal and Labor business forums which provide high-level policy briefings and networking and can cost $110,000.

At least 40 per cent of money going into political party coffers — $154 million — was not publicly identifiable. Any money says the politicians are made aware of the big donors.

Here are just a few examples.
Jobs after politics
A growing number of senior politicians take jobs with special interests after they leave Parliament — about 28 per cent since 1990 and rising.

Some take jobs in the industry they used to regulate as ministers.

They are supposed to wait 18 months, but many have jumped earlier, saying they will not lobby former colleagues.

In the past three years, nearly 70 per cent of federal ministers and shadow ministers have accepted corporate hospitality, which can be anything from a lavish lunch, to tickets to the AFL grand final, to airline lounge memberships.

Media from this country first news papers ,even the first in England have always been a tool used to gain power in politics.
Open minded people who compare fox/sky with ABC know the fight has long ago murdered honesty and miss used freedom of the press.
We consumers of the media long ago dug our trenches and picked our side.
Most of us insist on blindly following our side and hence politicians are getting worse every year as they need media more than us

More info from the above article.

Dark money flowing into politics
Declared donations of $43 million covering the last federal election (financial years 2015-2017) were highly concentrated — just 5 per cent of donors gave more than 50 per cent of all declared contributions.

Here are the top five donors:
Investment firm Cormack Foundation $4.54m (Liberal)
Then PM Malcolm Turnbull $1.75m (Liberal)
Shop assistants' union SDA $1.35m (Labor)
Mining magnate Paul Marks $1.3m (Liberal)
United Voice trade union $1.11m (Labor)

I do not for 1 minute believe the $4.54 million dollars was donated to the Liberals without some kind of assurance they would get something back.

The Labor donations speak for them self Labor is owned, controlled by (whichever term fits) the Unions.

NSW this one has some form of payback (corruption) all over it.

I the NSW Government was a business instead there is absolutely no way they would enter into this arrangement, BUT when in Government it is not your money so who cares.

http://theconversation.com/privatising-westconnex-is-the-biggest-waste-of-public-funds-for-corporate-gain-in-australian-history-102790

Privatising WestConnex is the biggest waste of public funds for corporate gain in Australian history

The NSW government has confirmed it will sell 51% of WestConnex — the nation’s biggest road infrastructure project — to a consortium led by Transurban, the nation’s biggest toll road corporation.

NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet described the A$9.3 billion sale to one of his party’s more generous donors as a “very strong result”.

I would describe it differently: the biggest misuse of public funds for corporate gain in Australia’s history.

Let’s examine how much public funding has been or will be sunk into WestConnex, a 33km toll road linking western Sydney with southwestern Sydney via the inner west.

To date, the NSW and federal governments have provided grants of about $6 billion. Much of this was raised through selling revenue-generating public assets, including NSW’s electricity network.

As well, the NSW government is bundling three publicly owned motorways into the sale: the M4 (between Parramatta and Homebush), the M5 East and the M5 Southwest (from 2026). Together, Credit Suisse values these public assets at A$9.2 billion. The government is privatising them by stealth. Leaked NSW cabinet documents suggest the Sydney Harbour Bridge will be next.

Then there is the A$1.5 billion bill for property acquisitions and the millions spent on planning, advertising, consultants, lawyers and bankers.

The government is funding extra road works to help prop up WestConnex toll revenue. It will increase the capacity of road corridors feeding into the interchanges. But it will reduce the number of traffic lanes on roads competing with WestConnex, such as Parramatta Road.

THE list of benefits the company will receive is much longer see link for more.

This part says it all.
NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet described the A$9.3 billion sale to one of his party’s more generous donors as a “very strong result”.

History will also show that many ex pollies have been on the gw alarmist gravy train. John Hewson is one of those hence his frequent invitations on the abc.

Phillip S from inside unions yes we support the child we and workers gave birth to.
At that time this country was little colonial Britain, workers ruled by land holders and big money, very often the sons of convicts who treated workers as property.
The Tolpuddle Martyrs is worth the read.
Just about every gain the average man made here and in England followed the foundation of Labour and Labor parties.
YES some unions still live in those days, still seek to fight a force that no longer exists.
But unions are not just a workers invention.
For every trade union a bosses union exists, and fights just as hard and sometimes brutally to maintain the privilege that comes with wealth.
IF Unions did not support the child they gave birth to we would forever and ever have government of the rich for the rich.

Some union members object to having some of their dues paid to political parties but few shareholders seem to object when some of their money (ie their dividends) are withheld and donated to political parties without consent. Strange.

As for Governmental part-private partnerships, these are second only to privatisation as the biggest theft of public funds and eventually cost the taxpayer far more than if they were entirely publicly funded.

Finally, the number of people identified as moving between Government (including the Public Service) and fossil fuel industries in either direction has been estimated at 180.
Similarly, in the USA for many years every President came from the oil industry or from an oil State.
It's obvious what industry has a significant influence on Governmental policy.

As Mark Twain once suggested, Democracy is the best form of government that money can buy.