GetUp! and their affiliates have received overseas donations worth millions of dollars from a whole range of little-known international activist groups.

There’s a lot of money going to and from organisations across the world – often through smaller affiliate groups as well to minimise tax – so getting to the bottom of exactly how much is very tricky.

Because they’re not a registered political party but a third party organisation, GetUp only have to declare to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) those funds that have been spent on “certain political activities”.

So while GetUp’s 2017-18 Annual Report revealed that 84.5% of their annual expenditure was “related to campaigns”, only 7.3% of their total expenditure was reported to the AEC! So exactly where does the other 77.4% of their annual expenditure come from?

Source: GetUp Annual Report, 2017-2018, Page 21

 

Declared donations to the AEC in previous years include:

  • $63,693 from the Geneva-based Oak Foundation,
  • $42,960 from German activist group Campact, and
  • two separate donations of $99,985 and $95,633 from the US-based Avaaz Foundation. (Source: AEC Returns 2016-2017, 2014-15, 2013-14)
follow_the_money

And there's more...

GetUp are also foundation members of the Online Progressive Engagement Network (OPEN).  OPEN is an international network that provides a range of services to activist organisations around the world – a sort of incubator and training hub to create and fund even more far-left activism.

Source: The OPEN network website

The Managing Director of OPEN is none other than GetUp’s current Chairman Phil Ireland, while the other Directors are from India, the US, the UK and Germany.

Source: The OPEN network website

Bizarrely, GetUp has received two separate payments of about 41,000 euros ($65,389) in 2015 and 2016 from Campact, a German organisation as "funds held on trust" in membership fees for the Online Progressive Engagement Network (OPEN).

A GetUp spokeperson explained to SBS News in February 2018 that "(Funds held on trust) are generally used to save on bank transaction fees and foreign exchange fluctuations, or to shift the burden of administering those funds."

Source: Almost half of sizeable donations gifted to activist group GetUp in the past year came from overseas

Further evidence of foreign influence was revealed recently in a Wikileaks exposure of the emails of Hilary Clinton’s former campaign Chairman John Podesta (who founded the Centre for American Progress). The emails showed that the foreign Sandler Foundation was orchestrating and funding opposition to the Australian Coal Industry through the Sunrise Project.

A congratulatory email from the Sunrise Project’s Executive Director John Hepburn (former head of Greenpeace) credited GetUp, 350.org, Greenpeace, Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Market Forces and the Mackay Conservation Group as working together to block the Adani Mine, with funding from foreign interests.

Source: Campaign against Australian coal - trail leads to John Podesta

So the future development of Australia’s economy, in this case our vast natural resources, is being decided by foreign organisations – not Australian voters.

GetUp are also foundation members of the Online Progressive Engagement Network (OPEN).  OPEN is an international network that provides a range of services to activist organisations around the world – a sort of incubator and training hub to create and fund even more far-left activism.

Source: The OPEN network website

The Managing Director of OPEN is none other than GetUp’s current Chairman Phil Ireland, while the other Directors are from India, the US, the UK and Germany.

Source: The OPEN network website

Bizarrely, GetUp has received two separate payments of about 41,000 euros ($65,389) in 2015 and 2016 from Campact, a German organisation as "funds held on trust" in membership fees for the Online Progressive Engagement Network (OPEN).

A GetUp spokeperson explained to SBS News in February 2018 that "(Funds held on trust) are generally used to save on bank transaction fees and foreign exchange fluctuations, or to shift the burden of administering those funds."

Source: Almost half of sizeable donations gifted to activist group GetUp in the past year came from overseas

So exactly what services are GetUp providing to other foreign members of OPEN – and vice versa?

And speaking of services, local GetUp Board member Daniel Stone’s digital campaign company Principle Co lists US-based GetUp funder Avaaz as a client, along with the Labor Party, the ACTU, The Australian Youth Climate Coalition, and the Maritime Union.

Source: The Principleco website

These examples really just scratch the surface of GetUp’s web of foreign-backed activities.

Many of GetUp’s affiliates - those organisations that they support and who support them in their activities - also receive funding from a range of overseas sources.  

Just a few of the local activist organisations with links to GetUp include: The Sunrise Project, Beyond Zero Emissions, Environment Victoria, 350.org, Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Markets for Change, Colour Code, Climate for Change, Centre for Australian Progress, Prosper Australia, Future Super, Animals Australia, Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network, Cool Australia, The Change Agency, Citizens Climate Lobby, Climate Action Network Australia, Greenpeace, Lock the Gate, Nature Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Tipping Point, Stop Adani, CoalSwarm, Voices for Indi, Voices of Warringah, Per Capita, The Tally Room, Farmers for Climate Action; and Principle Co.

Here’s something that doesn’t get listed on any donation register.  It also reflects the fact that GetUp’s campaigns aren’t actually about saving the planet – they’re ultimately about making money so they can further their left-wing agenda.

GetUp has so far received whopping kickbacks amounting to $2 million from NZ-based online energy retailer Powershop. GetUp created an online “Better Power” campaign on energy and encouraged people to sign with Powershop – who they claim is a “100% renewable energy generator”.  

Source: Better Power by GetUp website

GetUp gets a payment every time they convinced someone (usually one of their well-meaning followers) to switch to Powershop.

The problem is Powershop, wholly owned by New Zealand firm Meridian Energy, (which is 51% owned by the NZ government!) only owns a few wind farms.

It was revealed they actually buy electricity from the national power grid in the same way as other Australian retailers. The bulk of Powershop’s electricity, often all of it, is sourced from coal-fired power stations.

They offer the feel-good factor for consumers by also buying UN-accredited certified emission reduction certificates. But they still very much rely on coal-fired power for supply!

GetUp, of course, fail to mention that. But they take the kickbacks and use them to campaign against Powershop’s Australian retail competitors’ use of “dirty coal” – and drive more Australians to a NZ owned company!

Source: The Australian Newspaper - GetUp! pockets $2m with a ‘dirty’ deal