Steggall given most among independents at election, and largest donor to independents was Climate 200 lobby group

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

Climate 200, the Simon Holmes à Court and Mike Cannon-Brookes-backed environmental lobby group, donated a total of $450,000 to 12 independent candidates, making it their largest source of funding at the 2019 election.

According to disclosures released by the Australian Electoral Commission on Monday, Zali Steggall received a total of $1.1m of donations in her successful bid to topple Tony Abbott in Warringah, the highest of any independent.

Steggall was followed by Helen Haines, who raked in $421,000 in her successful bid to succeed Cathy McGowan in Indi; Oliver Yates, who received $363,000; and the former independent MP for Wentworth Kerryn Phelps, who received $219,000.

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The disclosures reveal only donations from a single source above the $13,800 threshold received by individual candidates, independent Senate groups and their respective donors. Party declarations will be released in February.

The other independents who raised more than $100,000 were candidate for Farrer Kevin Mack, Queensland Senate candidate Hetty Johnston, ex-Liberal MP Julia Banks, former independent MP Rob Oakeshott, and disgruntled Liberal turned challenger in Gilmore, Grant Schultz.

Steggall also topped the list for the most number of donors (1,378), followed by Helen Haines (1,002) and Oakeshott (350).

Climate 200 gave $145,000 to Oliver Yates, who failed in his bid to dislodge the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, in Kooyong; $50,000 to the ACT independent Senate candidate Anthony Pesec; $47,500 to Phelps; $40,000 to Banks; $37,000 to Oakeshott; and $35,000 to Haines. Pesec also received $20,000 from Malcolm Turnbull’s son, Alex Turnbull.

Climate 200 Pty Ltd is an initiative of energy consultant Holmes à Court that has also received funding from Atlassian co-founder Cannon-Brookes, who describes it as a “non-partisan, non-profit project set up to assist political candidates with a clear commitment to a science-based response to the climate emergency and to restoring integrity to politics”.

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The disclosures also show that the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union was a key donor to independent candidates in Tasmania, donating a combined $44,000 to the Recreational Fishers Party’s Todd Lambert in Bass, and Brett Smith in Braddon.

Labor incumbents Justine Keay and Ross Hart lost the two key seats, Liberal gains that helped the Coalition retain majority government in an upset victory.

Also in Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie’s disgruntled former chief of staff Rob Messenger attempted to help One Nation take her spot by donating $1,500 to Tasmanian Senate candidate Matthew Stephen. Messenger’s wife Fern also donated $1,500 to the One Nation campaign.

Consumer advocates Neil and Reiden Jenman, who made their fortune in real estate, donated $120,000 to Bravehearts campaigner Hetty Johnston, who unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in Queensland.

Silvio Pradella, a wealthy Queensland industrial property developer who is reportedly living in the Bahamas, donated $25,000 to Fraser Anning’s lead Senate candidate in WA, David Archibald.

Kerryn Phelps, who was unsuccessful in her bid to hold onto Malcolm Turnbull’s former seat of Wentworth, secured a $20,000 donation from venture capitalist Mark Carnegie and $25,000 from DEM Australasia Pty Ltd, a company run by the former director of the Sydney Mardi Gras Damien Hodgkinson.

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Liberal defector Julia Banks secured $22,000 from Minax Uriel Pty Ltd, which is linked to the family of activist Norman Rothfield.

Steggall’s other donations included $104,000 from Rob and Sandra Purves, $57,000 from Extend Your Edge Pty Ltd, $57,000 from businesswoman Anna Josephson, $50,000 from Symi Investments Pty Ltd, $22,000 from McGuire Family Holdings, and $20,000 from property developer Bill Manos.

The 2019 election saw a large number of independents contest inner-city Liberal constituencies disillusioned with the government’s lack of climate policy and the leadership switch from Malcolm Turnbull to Scott Morrison, and regional seats held by the Nationals concerned about water management.

Despite a high degree of coordination between independent candidates in messaging around climate change and political transparency, the Coalition ultimately held off most of the challengers and regained Turnbull’s seat of Wentworth.

• This story was amended on 5 November 2019 to correct the name of the lobby group, which was wrongly referred to as Climate 2020.