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The West Australian That Malcolm Turnbull is a wealthy man has never been a secret. Yet the Labor Party seems to think the Prime Minister should be embarrassed by his wealth. It has sought
to damage him by portraying him as “Mr Harbourside Mansion” to paint him as out of touch with the issues confronting average families. No doubt it was for this reason that Mr Turnbull had
been seemingly reluctant to publicly disclose just how much he had donated to the Liberal Party’s re-election campaign. But on Wednesday night he told the ABC’s 7.30 that he had donated
$1.75 million. And he went on to the front foot, accusing Opposition Leader Bill Shorten of trying to play “old-fashioned politics of envy”. The Prime Minister said he stood up for his
values with the money he had made and that he had paid tax on. “I put my money into ensuring that we didn’t have a Labor government,” Mr Turnbull said. He said it was correct that he and his
wife Lucy lived in a “nice house on the water” in Sydney. “And we paid for it. We pay the expenses on it — that’s our house,” Mr Turnbull said. Good luck to him. He put his money where his
mouth is and backed a cause in which he believes. It cannot be denied that the revelation of his donation came about in an untidy way, after it was not part of the latest Australian
Electoral Commission list of donors because it took place after the relevant period. But it is arguable that Mr Turnbull’s preparedness to open his wallet to support his party should be a
cause for praise, rather than admonishment. In a sense his was the most pure, obligation-free form of political donation. Perhaps of more note is the vast sums of money unions have donated
to the Labor Party. The electoral commission revealed that unions put about $10 million into Labor’s coffers, which Mr Turnbull claimed made Mr Shorten beholden to left-wing unions. >
Good luck to him. He put his money where his mouth is and backed a > cause in which he believes. Also worth attention is the money flowing freely to the parties from Chinese-linked
donors. A parliamentary committee is examining Australia’s electoral laws. It is important that whatever emerges from those considerations promotes changes which ensure donations are fully
transparent and disclosed in a timely manner. And Mr Turnbull needs to get over his prickliness and coyness about his financial position. In the United States it would be worn as a badge of
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