British American Tobacco makes biggest donation to Nationals in more than a decade amid crackdown on vaping

British American Tobacco has publicly donated to an Australian political party for the first time in more than a decade, as the Albanian government prepares to implement vaping reforms.

The $55,000 donation in the 2022-2023 fiscal year was announced by Laneway Assets, the agency that collects membership dues for the Nationals, the disclosure return form published according to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

It is the largest donation British American Tobacco has made to the party in twenty years.

The last time British American Tobacco donated to the celebration was in the 2011 financial yearas the federal government prepared to implement plain packaging reforms to reduce the appeal of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The latest donation came as the federal government announced in 2023 the country’s most significant tobacco and vaping control measures in a decade, including reforms targeting the import and sale of vapes.

A spokesperson for British American Tobacco Australia said the donation was made in the form of “an annual membership to proactively collaborate on solutions to combat the fast-growing unregulated nicotine market.”

The top $55,000 “foundation” membership. to the party’s national policy forum gives members access to national ministers and politicians at policy events, lunches and budget dinners.

Tobacco company Philip Morris Limited also donated $75,000 to the Nationals on May 10, 2023, a week after Health Secretary Mark Butler announced the vaping reforms. This is $20,000 more than the amount donated Philip Morris Limited the year beforeand more than the $55,000 required for foundation-level membership.

It brings the total given by Philip Morris Limited to the Nationals since the 1999 financial year to $570,000, of which $304,000 has been donated over the last ten years.

Tobacco company funding to the Nationals in the 2022-2023 financial year was $130,000, representing almost a fifth of the receipts reported in the Laneway Assets disclosure form, totaling $628,950.

The Elections Act requires that donations totaling more than $13,200 be disclosed.

There is growing concern about the potential influence of harmful industries in politics.

When the Senate debated the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Bill in December, independent Senator David Pocock called on politicians and political parties to stop accepting donations from tobacco companies and to restrict access to tobacco industry representatives to revoke Parliament House.

“There is clearly no transparency about who holds sponsored passes for access to Parliament House,” Pocock said at the time. “But we know that big tobaccos roam these halls, presumably to find opportune moments to run into their friends and give them copies of the latest talking points.

“I find it shameful that an industry that has caused so much despair in our community can curry favor with politicians by making donations. I’m sure they don’t make these donations expecting to get anything in return.”

Guardian Australia contacted Nationals leader David Littleproud’s spokesman for comment but did not receive a response.

When asked by Guardian Australia if he had met tobacco and vaping industry representatives and lobbyists, Littleproud said: “We have met everyone.”

Responding to allegations that tobacco companies influence Nationals’ policy and that big tobacco donations are part of that influence, Littleproud said: “That is a pure, petty political statement.”

Center for Public Integrity President Anthony Whealy said: “Our donation system at the federal level is broken and in urgent need of reform.

“When you have large donations, they are clearly — essentially — attempts to gain access to or influence government decisions,” he said.

“These are not what I would call donations made for democratic purposes, but donations made to try to influence decisions. And so it’s another example of how our system is failing.”