“In my view, cash for access should be banned, the diaries of ministers should be public so that these kinds of meetings are transparent for all to see.”
WA Labor secretary Tim Picton, who also attended the dinner, said his party complied with all relevant electoral and disclosure laws.
A spokeswoman for Wesfarmers confirmed Mr Scott attended the event and the attendance fee would be declared in its Australian Electoral Commission donation returns.
An APM spokesman said the company attended a variety of fundraising events hosted by both political parties and fully complied with all AEC disclosure requirements.
The McGowan government has faced criticism from the opposition and environmental groups over perceptions that it is too close to business.
A Woodside spokeswoman said Woodside engaged with political stakeholders to support its business strategy, exchange information and inform policy development and decision making.
“In Australia, this includes paying to attend ad-hoc business engagement events, which we assess in accordance with our business priorities. This was one such event,” she said.
“Woodside chooses full transparency and provides details of all political contributions made.
“The $5500 cost of this event will be reported to the Australian Electoral Commission when we lodge our disclosures for the 2021-2022 financial year.”
A Chevron spokeswoman said the company regularly engaged with WA ministers and officials and participated in political party business forums on a bipartisan basis.
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“All activities are fully disclosed to electoral authorities,” she said. “We appreciate the government’s willingness to work with the energy industry which is essential to powering homes, businesses and industry across Western Australia.”
A spokeswoman for the Premier did not respond to direct questions about why the premier attended the dinner and whether he thought cash for access events were still appropriate.
She said WA Labor fundraising events were matters for the party.
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