“ On 14 June 2025, #AnthonyAlbanese stood inside an enormous sphere of glass and steel, surrounded by 40,000 plants from around the world. His mind was firmly fixed on datacentres. The prime minister #PM was in the Seattle headquarters of #AmazonWebCentres He stood alongside the company’s chief executive, #MattGarman, who outlined a $20bn plan to build datacentres in #Melbourne and #Sydney.
Speaking to a travelling press pack, Garman was emphatic that #Australia was “incredibly important and a great market” for the world’s biggest #datacentre company.
Within days of #Albanese returning home, Amazon reported its largest payment to an Australian #PoliticalParty on record. The company’s federal disclosures show a $46,500 payment to the Labor party’s federal branch on 28 June.”
This was one of 34 payments – totalling $538,000 – that Amazon made to #Labor and #Liberal branches over a six-year period.”
Alba-sleezy.
#Straya / #AI / #corruption / #donations / #lobbyists <https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/12/donations-lobbyists-how-datacentres-play-the-political-game-in-australia>
