Come clean on interests, Climate 200 chief Simon Holmes a Court told

Libs battling independent candidates who are funded by Simon Holmes a Court call on him to be ‘transparent’ about his clean-­energy investments.

Liberals MPs say voters should be told how Simon Holmes a Court’s investments could benefit if his candidates win seats. Picture: AAP

Liberals battling independent election candidates who are funded by Simon Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 campaign group have called on the businessman to be “transparent” about his clean-­energy investments.

With Climate 200-backed independents receiving $10m in campaign donations to win seats held by moderate Liberals, the MPs under threat say voters should be told how Mr Holmes a Court’s investments could benefit.

The Australian reported on Tuesday that Mr Holmes a Court could reap a clean-energy profit windfall if independents funded by his Climate 200 were elected next month and succeeded in pressuring a Coalition or Labor government to speed up Australia’s cuts to carbon emissions.

An investigation by The Australian shows the business entrepreneur has significant company interests poised to make money out of a potential boom in clean-energy technology.

While Mr Holmes a Court has made no secret of his interest in pursuing climate technology opportunities, Liberal MPs said much of his interests remained opaque because they are held in private companies.

Dave Sharma, challenged by Climate 200-backed candidate Allegra Spender in Malcolm Turnbull’s former Sydney seat of Wentworth, told The Australian it seemed clear Mr Holmes a Court’s financial interests would be directly affected by the success of candidates he was supporting.

“This is a very murky intersection of public with private interests,” Mr Sharma said.

The Liberal, who holds Wentworth with just a 1.3 per cent margin, said transparency demanded Holmes a Court-backed candidates, including Ms Spender, also levelled with voters about “what policy commitments they were giving in exchange for his substantial financial support”.

He said: “They also need to be upfront about potential or actual conflicts of interest. If Clive Palmer was running candidates solely to support his business interests, people would rightly be outraged. This is no different.”

Liberal MP Jason Falinski, challenged in his Sydney seat of Mackellar by Climate 200-backed Sophie Scamps, said Mr Holmes a Court’s interests in renewable energy while supporting climate independents were “not there for people to see” because they were in private companies.

Mr Falinski said it might seem unfair, to an extent, to expect public disclosure about the detail of stakes in renewable projects: “But it is fair for Australians to ask a pretty simple question, which is, ‘tell us, if we vote for these candidates who you are funding, do their stated policies help or hinder you?’ ”

Mr Falinski claimed donors to Climate 200 could also remain sheltered if they gave a series of donations below the $13,800 legal declaration threshold, while four donations of $5000 to four Liberal candidates from a single donor would “get reported that you gave the Liberal Party $20,000”.

Financial Services Minister Jane Hume said Mr Holmes a Court should “come clean” on his business interests.

Senator Hume said Climate 200 independents were backed by big money and campaigning on the principle of transparency, but they and Mr Holmes a Court lacked transparency: “They say they’re independents but he runs the show,” she said.

Mr Holmes a Court dismisses any suggestion of a potential conflict of interest. He told The Australian his renewable energy investments were mostly foreign, with Australian holdings comprising less than 2 per cent of his assets.

However, he also said the nation stood at the precipice of a massive clean energy boom and has indicated the Morrison government’s climate policies are the main obstacle to local investment by him and others.

Climate 200 supports about 20 candidates but hopes to win seats for at least three more independents who could act as a coalition in a hung parliament.