Holding the country ransom while owning mining shares — guess who?

Five of the Nationals’ 21 MPs and senators own shares in fossil-fuel companies.

Analysis of the parliamentary register of interest sheds more light on the deep ties between the Liberals’ junior Coalition partner and the mining sector, from shareholdings, to trips funded by fossil-fuel companies.

The register, which MPs and senators must update throughout their term, discloses their properties, investments, membership of organisations, and anything else that may create a conflict of interest. And it shows that while the Nationals continue to stand in the way of a net zero emissions by 2050 target, many in their partyroom have a financial interest in the continued strength of the resources sector. 

Nationals’ Deputy Leader David Littleproud has the most resources-heavy share portfolio of anyone in the party. He owns shares in BHP, mining company South32, Blue Energy (oil and gas exploration) and Atlas, an iron ore company run by Gina Rinehart, whose Hancock Prospecting acquired it in 2018. He also has shares in Ausenco, an engineering company primarily servicing the resources industry. Littleproud’s dependent children are listed as having BHP and South32 shares.

Regional Health Minister David Gillespie, who was promoted to the frontbench after Barnaby Joyce returned to the party leadership, has shares in BHP, South32 and gold extractor Northern Star Resources. So does his wife. 

Senators Perin Davey and Susan McDonald have shares in BHP. Ken O’Dowd, who is retiring as the member for Flynn in central Queensland, has shares in energy giant Woodside Petroleum. According to the section of his statement detailing “bonds, debentures and like investments”, O’Dowd has interests in BHP, Rio Tinto and Caltex. 

The registers also lay out the close relationship between the Nationals and mining companies. Senator Matt Canavan, who is one of the mining industry’s most vocal advocates in federal Parliament, received a commemorative plaque from Bravus (née Adani) with the first coal extracted from its controversial Carmichael mine. Bravus also paid for him to sit in its corporate box for a basketball game in Rockhampton. 

Resources Minister Keith Pitt has received a few perks from the sector. This year Santos paid for his travel from Canberra to Darwin, and the sector paid for him to attend a resources event at Roy Hill mine in Western Australia. It’s unclear who paid, but the mine is largely operated by Hancock Prospecting. Pitt and Davey have taken helicopter trips funded by the Port of Newcastle to look at mine sites.

Meanwhile, the Glasgow summit starts next week, and failure of Prime Minister Scott Morrison to show up with a net zero target, agreed to by most advanced economies and backed by big business and many Liberals, will cause Australia major embarrassment. The Nationals still refuse to agree to net zero, and want major taxpayer handouts to the regions as the price of their support, even though concessions like inland rail would actually increase Australia’s emissions.

The party is also a major beneficiary of donations from the resources sector, and was the only party other than the United Australia Party to get cash from leading donor Clive Palmer in the 2019-20 financial year.