Coal industry lobby secretly funded $3.9 million attack campaign against climate-friendly australian political candidates

A political campaign group that launched aggressive attack advertisements targeting environmentally-focused candidates during Australia’s last federal election was almost entirely bankrolled by the coal industry, according to newly released financial disclosures.

Australian Electoral Commission records reveal that Australians for Prosperity received $3.89 million in political funding during the last financial year, with an overwhelming $3.68 million—approximately 95% of its total budget—coming directly from Coal Australia, the industry’s primary lobby organization. The group used these funds to run negative advertising campaigns specifically targeting Labor Party candidates, Greens politicians, and teal independent candidates who had campaigned on strong climate action platforms.

The disclosure highlights the significant financial influence fossil fuel interests wield in Australian politics, particularly their efforts to undermine candidates supporting renewable energy transitions and emissions reduction policies. Coal Australia’s substantial investment in political advertising through proxy organizations like Australians for Prosperity demonstrates how industry groups can indirectly shape public opinion and electoral outcomes while maintaining some distance from direct political campaigning.

This revelation adds to growing concerns about transparency in political funding and the role of fossil fuel money in Australian democracy. Environmental advocates argue that such large-scale industry funding of political attack campaigns undermines genuine democratic debate about climate policy and energy transition, allowing corporate interests to amplify their political influence far beyond what individual voters can achieve through traditional democratic participation.