The $6600 donation that has WA politicians up in arms

Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas has challenged WA Labor state secretary Mark Reed to pay back a $6600 donation from homelessness and domestic violence charity Ruah.

Ruah Community Services disclosed the “gift” to WA Labor last month, which the charity confirmed was for two tickets to attend one of its Labor Business Roundtable fundraising events.

More than $38 million of Ruah’s $45 million in revenue in 2024-25 came from grants, including from the WA government.

The donation drew the ire of the opposition and the Greens, which both questioned why a charity would spend crucial funding to pay for access to government ministers through the Labor events.

Zempilas called on Labor to pay the money back.

“I am stunned that there has been a donation go from Ruah to the WA Labor Party. But I am even more staggered that the WA Labor Party has accepted that money from a charitable organisation,” he said.

“Have they totally lost their moral fibre? Are they totally bereft of any direction and knowing what is right and what is wrong? This is a charity, and they are somehow being asked to donate money to the WA Labor Party to have access.

“I met with Shelter WA yesterday. I didn’t charge them any money to come in and discuss the issues that are a priority for the social services sector, and I meet with a whole range of those in this community space all the time. It is shameful that WA Labor has accepted money from a charity.

“The first thing Mark Reed should do today is refund that money to Ruah ... how many meals could it provide for those that Ruah provide homelessness services for? How much shelter could it help accommodate? Extra blankets, clothes, and the like.”

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission warns against donating to political parties and attending political fundraising events “because the charity will run the risk of being found to have a purpose of supporting a particular candidate or party.”

Ruah chief executive Debra Zanella said she was comfortable the charity had disclosed the payment correctly.

She defended the payment as purely for advocacy on behalf of her organisation and the event gave them the opportunity to speak to ministers across portfolios in the space of one day.

“We saw it as the ability to condense what is often months and months of advocacy in one day,” she said.

“Whether politicians want to make this a political football I can’t stop the rhetoric and what occurs in government.”

Reed did not respond to questions about Zempilas’ challenge to pay back the money.

He said the party’s schedule of events was open to the full spectrum of businesses and entities from across WA and interstate.

“WA Labor complies with the WAEC’s disclosure requirements,” he said.

Ruah was at the centre of a political fight between the Cook Government and Zempilas in his previous role as Perth lord mayor, when the City of Perth shut its women’s shelter in East Perth in 2023 and the charity attempted to open a new centre in Northbridge.

Ruah received $10.7 million in the May budget for crisis accommodation.

Planning Minister and Perth MP John Carey defended charities paying to attend Labor fundraisers, saying when he worked for Pew Charitable Trusts before entering politics, he attended a Liberal business forum with former premier Colin Barnett.

“Ultimately, that is a decision for each of those organisations,” he said.

“I understand why Basil is being so hyper about this, he really dislikes Ruah. He shut down the women’s shelter.

“He was humiliated as part of that, and quite frankly, he has an ideological hatred of Ruah.”

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