Ever heard of “The Sunrise Project”?  Most Australians haven’t – but this little known environmental activist organisation funded in part from foreign donors has just gifted $495,000 to Get Up for the express purpose of campaigning for Labor and the Greens in the lead up to the election next year.

What’s more, the donation took place just weeks before new laws regarding donations from foreign sources come into effect. While The Sunrise Project does not reveal its funding sources, it was effectively “outed” when Wikileaks emails by the US-based Sandler Foundation admitted providing them with funding.

From The Australian newspaper:

The group is known to receive international funding, following documents aired by WikiLeaks, from the US-based Sandler and Tides foundations that were ­directed at the anti-Adani coalmine campaign.

 GetUp national director Paul Oosting confirmed yesterday that funds from the $495,000 Sunrise Project donation would be used in the lead-up to the federal election expected in May.

 GetUp plans to campaign against the Morrison government, and hand out how-to-vote cards for Labor or the Greens.

 Mr Oosting said “all funds” ­received from the Sunrise Project came from Australian sources, but declined to say where it had accessed the $495,000 donation.

 Sunrise’s executive director, former Greenpeace activist John Hepburn, also insisted all funds were from “Australian sources” but declined to name them.

 The lack of transparency is concerning. 

According to it’s own website, The Sunrise Project has 16 staff and is headed by former Greenpeace activist John Hepburn. Its mission is to “drive the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy as fast as possible.”

It provides grants of “up to $5,000” for small environmental projects, but has no explanation of how the money is raised.  What’s more – there’s no mention at all of their capacity to “gift” almost half a million dollars to another left-wing organisation for political campaigning!

All of this occurs as “Get Up” has just appointed an extra Board member - Labor for Refugees activist and CFMEU official Karen Iles. 

These secretive backroom deals, partnerships and ties demonstrate the way that left-wing forces have created cashed-up powerbases from which to run their extreme agenda.