By Sohaib Shams
One Nation is requiring donors attending a private Sydney fundraiser to sign non-disclosure agreements barring them from revealing any details about the event, including attendee identities and discussions, in a move transparency advocates call unprecedented for Australian political fundraising.
Invitation details and NDA terms
Invitations for the “very special evening” at an undisclosed central Sydney venue next Thursday charge $3,000 per person for a four-hour cocktail-dress event described as “private and very discrete.” Donors are told they will meet party leader Pauline Hanson, national director James Ashby, federal MP Barnaby Joyce, federal chief of staff Chris Taylor, and New South Wales leader Mike Newman. The NDA, seen by Guardian Australia, prohibits disclosure of conversations, activities, photographs, video, or other details obtained at the event, and bars providing information to journalists, media organisations, bloggers, or other publishers. The obligations continue after the event concludes.
Transparency experts raise concerns
Transparency International Australia chief executive Clancy Moore said charging guests for a political fundraiser and requiring silence raises serious questions about transparency ahead of the NSW state election. “Voters deserve to know whether any political commitments are being made behind closed doors to paying guests,” Moore said. Christian Slattery, a senior campaigner at the Australian Democracy Network, said the NDA sets a worrying precedent and that democracy thrives in sunlight.
Context of One Nation fundraising
Senior sources from both major parties said the use of NDAs at fundraisers is unprecedented, though such dinners are common for Labor and Liberal parties. One Nation has disclosed $5,000 in reportable donations in 2026-27 across three donations for a fundraising dinner with Joyce, while NSW Labor has raised $286,200 and the NSW Liberals $95,900 in the same period. The reportable donation threshold in NSW is $1,000.
Previous events and polling
A now-defunct webpage indicated registered attendees would receive the venue location by text message an hour before the start time. In September, the address of a Melbourne fundraiser with Hanson was leaked, leading to media photographing donors. Other high-profile One Nation events have drawn protesters and heavy police presence. The party has also required state election candidates to sign NDAs preventing discussion of their candidacy. The fundraiser comes amid a major donations drive in NSW, where One Nation was polling at 25% of first-preference votes in September, ahead of the Coalition on 24% and behind Labor on 29%, according to a Sydney Morning Herald Resolve poll. Internal Labor polling suggests One Nation could win more than 20 lower house seats.
