Donations to major parties and an ex-premier as a lobbyist: how datacentres play the political game in Australia
Summary
Amazon Web Services plans to invest $20 billion in new datacentres in Melbourne and Sydney. The company has made over $500,000 in payments to Australia’s major political parties over six years, including payments near the time of major government deals. These payments, which are legal, raise questions about political access and influence from datacentre companies.Key Facts
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Amazon’s Seattle headquarters in June 2025 to learn about its datacentre plans.
- Amazon announced a $20 billion plan to build datacentres in Melbourne and Sydney.
- Amazon made 34 payments totaling $538,000 to both the Labor and Liberal parties from 2019 to 2025.
- A $46,500 payment was made to the Labor Party shortly after Albanese’s Seattle visit.
- Payments include membership fees to the Labor Business Forum, which offers access to ministers and MPs.
- These payments are recorded as “other receipts” under Australian electoral law, not formal donations.
- Amazon’s payments coincide with major datacentre deals, including a $2 billion government contract for intelligence data storage.
- Former politicians and advisers have been hired to lobby on behalf of datacentre companies.
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