The Beatles once sang "money can't buy me love". Well that’s certainly been the case for some political parties in the just published political party donation returns.

The figures, published around this time every year, are of particular interest just after an election. The numbers show you just who had the biggest war chest and, to a certain extent, exactly who they got it from.

In the case of two of the more controversial political movements of last year’s election campaign, the Internet Party and the Conservatives, the money (or should that be the love) was largely self involved.

The Internet party got $3.5 million all from its founder Kim DotCom. Its eventual joint vehicle with the Mana Movement got $656,000, pretty much all of it from the Internet Party. Despite the dosh the Internet Party crashed and burned.

And the Conservative Party didn't exactly fare well either. It received over $3.2 million in donations and loans. Around two thirds of this came from founder and party leader Colin Craig. It had huge resources but remains a voice in the political wilderness.

However National didn't follow the same song sheet. Its electoral success was also matched by its fundraising. It acquired just shy of $4 million, a quarter of which can be identified.

Among donations of interest is a half million dollar bequest from the estate of one Cyril Smith. One hopes his descendants didn't take it too hard.

But when it comes to bragging rights the Greens have managed to well at truly one-up the Labour Party.

The Greens, oft derided as a party of dippy yoghurt knitters, managed to raise more cash than the Labour Party. It banked almost $970,000 in donations. Labour got just under $940,000.

Now it would be easy to assume that Labour's fundraising was average, and to a certain extent that is true. But when you compare the Green Party's donations to what they got at the 2011 election it really jumps out at you that they almost doubled their election year take. $492,000 to $970,000 is a huge jump.

It should also be noted that over half of that sum are donations of under $15,000, the threshold below which donors can't be identified. It's somewhat ironic given the Green Party's previous public statements about undisclosed cash in election campaigns.