Gina Rinehart

Gina Rinehart, chair of Hancock Prospecting and Australia's richest person, donated $2.3 million to the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) in 2016 and $2.2 million in 2017 — together representing more than one-third of the IPA's reported annual revenues in each year; the 2016 payment was closer to half. The IPA ran explicit campaigns opposing Australia's carbon price under the "axe the tax" slogan. In 2010, Rinehart helped fund Lord Christopher Monckton's Australian speaking tour (total cost ~$100,000 in stipend, accommodation, and travel). Monckton is a British climate denier with no scientific credentials. Rinehart publicly opposed Australia's proposed carbon price, participating in "axe the tax" campaigns. She publicly stated: "I have never met a geologist or leading scientist who believes adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere will have any significant effect on climate change." In September 2021 she addressed students, stating she had brought Monckton and geologist Ian Plimer (another prominent climate denier) to speak to senior school students, "to take away some of the emotional fear."

• —$2.3 million to IPA in 2016. $2.2 million to IPA in 2017. Combined: $4.5 million — per NSW Supreme Court filing disclosures.
• —Each payment represented more than one-third of the IPA's reported annual revenue (2016 was closer to half).
• —IPA ran explicit "axe the tax" campaigns opposing Australia's carbon price mechanism.
• —2010: Rinehart helped fund Lord Christopher Monckton's Australian speaking tour (~$100,000 total in fees, accommodation, and travel).
• —Rinehart publicly stated she had "never met a geologist or leading scientist who believes adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere will have any significant effect on climate change."
• —September 2021: Rinehart told students she had arranged for Monckton and climate denier Ian Plimer to speak at their school, "to take away some of the emotional fear."
• —Hancock Prospecting's core business is iron ore extraction — a high-emissions industry whose economics depend on the absence of meaningful carbon pricing.

In 2012, Rinehart acquired a stake of nearly 13% in Fairfax Media for $192 million — publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, two of Australia's most widely read newspapers. She sought three board seats plus the position of deputy chairman. Fairfax journalists formally requested that Rinehart sign the company's 20-year-old Charter of Editorial Independence, which prohibits directors from dictating the news agenda. Rinehart refused to sign. The board denied her board seats because of the editorial independence dispute. She sold the stake in 2015. No charges were filed.

• —2012: Rinehart acquired nearly 13% stake in Fairfax Media ($192 million).
• —Fairfax Media: publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Australian Financial Review.
• —Rinehart sought three board seats plus the position of deputy chairman.
• —Fairfax journalists requested she sign the Charter of Editorial Independence — a 20-year-old company document prohibiting directors from controlling the news agenda.
• —Rinehart refused to sign.
• —Board denied her board seats specifically because of the editorial independence dispute.
• —2015: Rinehart sold the stake after failing to obtain editorial influence.

Count 1 — Political capture: Rinehart co-founded ANDEV (Australians for Northern Development and Economic Vision), which partnered with the IPA to run campaigns promoting special treatment for northern Australian mining interests while opposing environmental and labor regulations. In 2013 the IPA gave her its "Free Enterprise Leader Award" at a dinner alongside Tony Abbott (about to become Prime Minister) and Rupert Murdoch — a convergence of the three principal axes of Australian right-wing political capture. Count 2 — Roy Hill sovereign land dispossession: Roy Hill mine sits on Wunna Nyiyaparli Country in the Pilbara, WA — land the Wunna Nyiyaparli have never sold, never ceded, and continue to hold sovereign rights over. When the Wunna Nyiyaparli asserted their rights in Federal Court in 2012, mining interests prevailed through a procedural ambush: on 11 July 2016, the court held a separate question hearing — without informing the Wunna Nyiyaparli representatives — and ruled the clan "do not really exist." Their three representatives, unprepared and not consenting, were locked out. Elder Ailsa Roy filed a complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. In March 2023, the CCPR ruled Australia had denied the Wunna Nyiyaparli their cultural rights and ordered "an effective and enforceable remedy." Australia's attorney general, nine months after the 180-day remedy deadline, told the CCPR it was wrong. In 2025, the Wunna Nyiyaparli discovered the entire proceeding was built on void documents — a 2005 native title claim that had been unregistered and voided under native title law, then progressed anyway. The mine keeps running.

• —ANDEV (Australians for Northern Development and Economic Vision): co-founded by Rinehart, partnered with IPA.
• —ANDEV campaigns: "economic growth and special treatment" for northern Australia; opposition to environmental and labor regulations.
• —2013: IPA "Free Enterprise Leader Award" dinner — Rinehart, Tony Abbott, Rupert Murdoch at the same table, days before Abbott became Prime Minister.
• —Roy Hill mine: AUD $10 billion iron ore project in the Pilbara, on Wunna Nyiyaparli sovereign Country.
• —2012: Wunna Nyiyaparli filed native title claim with the Federal Court over the Roy Hill parcel.
• —11 July 2016: Federal Court held a "separate question" hearing to determine if the Wunna Nyiyaparli "really exist" — without informing their representatives. Court ruled: they do not.
• —2019: Elder Ailsa Roy filed complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR).
• —March 2023: CCPR ruled Australia had denied the Wunna Nyiyaparli their cultural rights and procedural fairness; ordered an "effective and enforceable remedy."
• —Nine months after the 180-day remedy deadline: Australian attorney general told the CCPR it was wrong. No remedy provided.
• —November 2025: Wunna Nyiyaparli discovered the 2016 proceedings were based on void documents — a 2005 Nyiyaparli claim that had been voided but progressed anyway.
• —Current status: Wunna Nyiyaparli denied access to Country. Mine keeps running.

In September 2012, Rinehart posted a video to the Sydney Mining Club's website in which she argued Australia must cut labor costs and taxes because "many Africans want to work" and are willing to do so "for $2 a day." She framed this as a competitive benchmark, not a proposed rate for Australian workers — a distinction her defenders emphasize. The remarks were made while Rinehart was simultaneously seeking Enterprise Migration Agreement approvals to import 1,715 foreign construction workers for the $10 billion Roy Hill project. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard publicly responded that it was not "the Australian way" to pay workers $2 or "toss them a gold coin" for a day's work. The ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions) stated the comments were "out of touch and just plain wrong." Rinehart remained Australia's richest person throughout and made no apology for the remarks.

• —September 2012: Rinehart posted video to Sydney Mining Club website arguing Australia must cut labor costs.
• —"Many Africans want to work for $2 a day" — cited as the global competitive benchmark Australian policy must reckon with.
• —Simultaneously sought Enterprise Migration Agreement approval for 1,715 foreign workers for Roy Hill project.
• —Roy Hill project value: ~AUD $10 billion.
• —Prime Minister Gillard: it was not "the Australian way" to pay workers "$2 or a gold coin a day."
• —ACTU: comments were "out of touch and just plain wrong."
• —Rinehart's personal net worth at the time: approximately $30 billion. Australia's richest person.

AEC donor return disclosures confirm Hancock Prospecting donated $150,000 to the Liberal Party of Australia in 2020–21, with delayed disclosure. In 2023–24, Hancock donated $325,000 to the Liberal National Party Queensland, $75,000 to the Country Liberal Party NT, $100,000 to Liberals SA — and $895,000 to Advance Australia, a far-right advocacy group that runs anti-union and pro-fossil-fuel media campaigns. Advance was Hancock's single largest political recipient that cycle. In 2024–25, two executives of the Hancock empire — Hancock Agriculture CEO Adam Giles and Hancock Energy executive director Ian Plimer (the same geologist Rinehart arranged to speak to school students "to take away some of the emotional fear" about climate change) — donated $500,000 each to One Nation, totaling $1 million. This exceeded One Nation's previous record individual donation by five times. A Rinehart company also donated a Cirrus G7 aircraft, estimated at AUD $1.5–2.1 million, to Pauline Hanson/One Nation. Senator Hanson registered flights from Hancock Prospecting and S. Kidman & Co. (another Rinehart entity) in her interests disclosure. No arms-length transaction exists. The AEC investigated allegations of undisclosed Hancock payments routed through the Sydney Mining Club to the Liberal Party; the investigation found no deliberate concealment scheme but documented disclosure failures.

• —2020–21: Hancock Prospecting: $150,000 to the Liberal Party of Australia. Delayed disclosure.
• —2023–24: Hancock donated $325k (LNP Qld) + $75k (CLP NT) + $100k (Liberals SA) + $895,000 to Advance Australia — a far-right group running anti-union and pro-fossil-fuel campaigns. Advance was Hancock\'s largest single recipient.
• —2024–25: Hancock Agriculture CEO Adam Giles: $500,000 to One Nation. Hancock Energy executive director Ian Plimer: $500,000 to One Nation. Combined: $1 million — 5× One Nation\'s previous record individual donation.
• —Ian Plimer is the same geologist Rinehart brought to schools to counter climate education.
• —2024–25: A Rinehart company donated a Cirrus G7 aircraft (est. AUD $1.5–2.1M) to Pauline Hanson/One Nation. Senator Hanson registered flights from Hancock Prospecting and S. Kidman & Co. in her interests disclosure. No arms-length transaction.
• —AEC investigated alleged undisclosed Hancock payments through the Sydney Mining Club to the Liberal Party. No deliberate concealment found; disclosure failures documented.