Climate 200 financially backing Kooyong, Goldstein independents’ election campaigns

The push to unseat Coalition MPs is growing momentum with one group raising more than $7m to financially back independents’ campaigns.

The climate activist spearheading a push for independent candidates to knock off Coalition MPs says they should keep quiet about who they would support if the federal election produces a hung parliament.

With both major parties currently expecting a tight result in May, Australia’s next prime minister could be determined by the parliamentary crossbench, which several independents are hoping to join.

Simon Holmes à Court’s Climate 200 group has already raised a $7m war chest to back at least 12 independents taking on government MPs in traditional Liberal seats, including Victorians Josh Frydenberg and Tim Wilson.

Assistant Minister for Energy Tim Wilson and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg both have ‘Voices of’ candidates running in their electorates. Picture Kym Smith

While Scott Morrison has blasted the movement as “the voices of Labor”, Mr Holmes à Court said his preferred candidates could “hardly say (they are) independent” if they decided before polling day who they would support to break an election deadlock.

“I think the smart indie will say ‘if I’m lucky enough to be in that position, I will sit down with both parties’,” he told the Herald Sun. “If you find yourself in a position of having to decide, in order to form a minority government, you would lose all your power if you have already made your mind up.”

He also told the Herald Sun that Climate 200 was open to supporting candidates taking on Labor MPs, especially since the opposition’s 2030 emissions reduction target was now less ambitious than its policy at the last election.

But he said using his fundraising machine against the Coalition was a “function of who’s in government”.

“If Labor had been in power for 10 years and it wasn’t doing a good job on these issues (climate, integrity commission, women’s safety) then you’d see the groups standing up in Labor seats,” Mr Holmes à Court said.

Simon Holmes à Court. Picture: Aaron Francis / The Australian

Climate 200 will financially support the campaigns of former ABC journalist Zoe Daniel in the bayside seat of Goldstein, and Monique Ryan, former director of neurology at the Royal Children’s Hospital, in the seat of Kooyong.

The group is also in talks with Flinders candidate Despi O’Connor, and is watching the electorates of Indi, Mallee and Nicholls.

Victorians are among the top donors to Climate 200, with two in five living in the state. The Greens-held electorate of Melbourne boasts the largest number of Victorian donors, followed by Kooyong and the Labor-held seat of Macnamara.

Mr Holmes à Court said he would not be surprised if they raised enough money to support up to 20 campaigns.

Originally published as Climate 200 financially backing Kooyong, Goldstein independents’ election campaigns