Election 2025: Climate, integrity cash pours in for Goldstein teal

Liberals are braced to be outspent in the cutthroat Goldstein election as climate cash pours into Zoe Daniel’s campaign pockets.

Goldstein independent MP Zoe Daniel. Picture: NewsWire/ Nadir Kinani

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Climate and integrity activist groups have donated almost $600,000 to teal MP Zoe Daniel over the past year to bankroll her election campaign fight to retain the crucial seat of Goldstein.

The Simon Holmes a Court-led Climate 200 organisation has already poured more than $420,000 into Ms Daniel’s campaign for a second term as the Melbourne bayside electorate’s member.

And a company owned and operated by Sydney-based climate campaigner Robert Keldoulis gave $100,000 to Ms Daniel this month in separate $60,000 and $40,000 donations.

The massive climate cash injection – detailed on Ms Daniel’s website, which lists more than 2500 political donations over the past year – sets the scene for an expensive and hard-fought campaign against Tim Wilson, the Liberal MP she defeated in 2022.

Polling released this week shows support is surging in Goldstein for Mr Wilson, with the former MP leading his teal opponent 54-46 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis.

The polling, conducted by JWS Research, represented a major turnaround from the 2022 election, which swept Ms Daniel into federal parliament in a 52.9-47.1 per cent result.

The survey identified cost of living in the wealthy electorate, which covers suburbs including Brighton, and concern about crime as the top two issues concerning voters. Climate and the environment was listed as the third-most important issue.

Ms Daniel, according to her website, has also received $66,000 from a pro-teal group known as Keep Them Honest. Climate 200 has made 10 donations to Ms Daniel since March 2024, including $100,000 on February 14, $60,000 on February 3, $40,000 on December 30 and $100,000 on December 23.

In a statement to The Australian, Ms Daniel defended the political donations, saying more than 60 per cent of donations were from private citizens. She did not respond directly when questioned about whether the climate and integrity groups would make additional donations ahead of the May 3 election.

Liberal candidate Tim Wilson. Picture: Supplied

“Climate 200 is a fundraising aggregator that ordinary Australians contribute to in order to support candidates fighting for important and urgent action on climate, gender equality and integrity policy outcomes,” she said.

“It is not a bucket of money provided by a billionaire, unlike the Liberal Party’s major benefactors, such as Gina Rinehart.

“In our last campaign, over 60 per cent of our donors came directly from private citizens, not Climate 200, and this campaign is tracking similarly.

“Unlike my opponent, I am transparent about my donations (they are available on my website) and will continue to be throughout the campaign.”

Victorian Liberals are bracing to be outspent by the teal movement by hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 2025 battle for Goldstein. Party insiders estimate a seven-figure sum was spent on Ms Daniel’s successful 2022 election campaign.

The Victorian Liberal Party defended the party’s donation disclosures.

“Questions about Zoe Daniel’s integrity … are best put to her,” a Liberal spokesperson said.

“It is common for political parties to raise funds from their supporters. The Liberal Party complies with the law and makes disclosures as required.”

Unlike Ms Daniel, Kooyong teal MP Monique Ryan does not provide a list of donations on her website. Dr Ryan has been approached for comment. Dr Ryan, according to this week’s JWS poll, holds a 51-49 per cent lead over Liberal candidate Amelia Hamer.

Australian Electoral Commission disclosures, released last year, reveal Climate 200 donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to teal MPs, including $122,000 to Dr Ryan in 2023-24.

The Australian approached Climate 200 and Mr Keldoulis for comment about the donations to Ms Daniel.