Gina Rinehart’s MAGA Push in Australia
Australia has always done things its own way — laid-back, fair dinkum, and allergic to imported political cults. But one mining heiress is determined to change that. Gina Rinehart, who inherited her fortune from her father’s empire and turned it into one of the world’s biggest mining fortunes, is pouring serious cash into a right-wing astroturfing machine that smells a lot like MAGA 2.0 Down Under.
According to fresh Australian Electoral Commission data, Gina’s company Hancock Prospecting dropped $895,000 into Advance Australia in the 2024-25 financial year alone — making it the group’s biggest donor by a country mile. Two separate donations totalling that eye-watering figure. Advance Australia, the shadowy third-party campaign outfit, spent big on social media ads pushing anti-immigration fearmongering and railing against net zero. They even bragged about “destroying” the Greens during the last election cycle.
The Michael West investigation lays it all out: Gina isn’t the only billionaire playing this game, but she’s the headline act. James Packer, the O’Neil family, storage king Sam Kennard and others chipped in too, but Hancock Prospecting’s $895k was the standout. Advance raked in $13.5 million total that year, yet only disclosed sources for about $5.3 million. The rest? Shrouded in the usual dark-money fog.
The Guardian confirmed the same donations on 2 February 2026, noting Hancock Prospecting also tossed $105k to the Victorian Liberals and another $99k from Gina’s beef arm to the WA Liberals. And Gina’s personal political hobbies? She’s been flying former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson around on her private jet while publicly cheering their hard-right pivot.
This isn’t subtle philanthropy. It’s a coordinated, well-funded attempt to import the worst of Trump-style culture-war politics — anti-climate, anti-immigration, anti-expert — into Australian soil. Gina wants MAGA to rule here, and she’s happy to weaponise her family fortune to make it happen.
But not everyone is rolling over. Enter Auspol On SOL — the cheeky, meme-slinging crew on Solana fighting the far right and MAGA creep with nothing but coherency, shitposts, and pure Australian spirit. They’re the devotees of The Australian Way: no billionaire worship, no imported cult nonsense, just memes and facts pushing back against the astroturf invasion. If you’re sick of billionaires trying to buy our politics, $AUSPOL is the counter-movement worth watching. Fighting fire with funny, one Solana meme at a time.
Check the evidence for yourself:
Michael West’s deep dive: https://michaelwest.com.au/the-billionaires-bankrolling-rightwing-astroturfer-advance-australia
The Guardian’s reporting on the donations: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/02/gina-rinehart-political-donations-hancock-prospecting
And for a proper belly laugh at the absurdity of it all, check this absolute gem from r/friendlyjordies: https://www.reddit.com/r/friendlyjordies/comments/1s4xbzk/lol/ (insert the image from this Reddit post here — it’s gold)
All our links: https://portrait.so/auspoldotsol
$AUSPOL @auspolsol
