Independent money gets results

There is plenty of evidence that money alone is not enough to guarantee electoral success – witness Clive Palmer’s multimillion-dollar spend – but it sure helps. Election returns released on Monday for federal independent candidates show a flood of cash helped to boost the number of lower-house independents to 10. This is an increase from three in the previous parliament and double the earlier record of five in 1996. Despite the large amount of money spent by independents, it is certain that the major parties spent more. We will know how much more when political party returns for 2021-22 are published on February 1 next year.

Evidence of the power of political spending can be found in the fact Kooyong MP Monique Ryan succeeded in her bid to unseat former treasurer Josh Frydenberg after spending more than $2.1m. This was more than five times the amount spent in an unsuccessful campaign by Liberal-turned-independent Oliver Yates, who spent $483,804 in the 2019 election. What is new is the role played by crowd-funding war chest Climate 200 that was able to double the amount available for independent candidates to take on high-profile government MPs. Much of this funding came from big donations from wealthy individuals with their own particular interests. Given the insistence by Climate 200 that it does not operate like a political party despite all candidates it supports sharing the same demands and world view, the funding returns deserve close inspection. Despite raising $8.3m from donations, Climate 200 has declared $6m of spending. More will be reported later and so should be any other services provided. This is important given a key platform for teal independents and Climate 200 was for greater transparency in politics. So was ethics and, in the case of Dr Ryan, who argues for a fossil-fuel-free future, it is instructive to note her financial backers included the bidders for a West African oil and gas explorer.

Wentworth MP Allegra Spender received the highest number of donations among the Climate 200-backed candidates, as well as donations from high-profile people including $25,000 from Alex Turnbull, the son of former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. Ms Spender has said significant reform to political donations and campaign financing is needed. Any review must include close scrutiny of whether candidates can be considered truly independent if they share a narrow pool of big donors. Climate 200 deserves greater scrutiny on how it manages its affairs and whether it should rightly be considered to be a political party.