Election 2022: Kate Chaney challenge to fall short but cost Libs

An almost $1m campaign by ‘teal independent’ Kate Chaney in the blue-ribbon WA seat of Curtin looks increasingly likely to fall short of unseating incumbent MP Celia Hammond.

Curtin MP Celia Hammond. Picture: Colin Murty

An almost $1m campaign by “teal independent” Kate Chaney in the blue-ribbon WA seat of Curtin looks increasingly likely to fall short of unseating incumbent MP Celia Hammond but has succeeded in sucking a significant amount of resources from the Liberal campaign.

Recent YouGov polling showed Ms Chaney – the daughter of Perth business giant Michael Chaney and niece of former Liberal MP Fred Chaney – trailing not just Ms Hammond but also Labor challenger Yannick Spencer and Greens candidate Cameron Pigeon in what would be a disappointing result for the high-profile challenge.

Ms Chaney’s campaign website says she has raised $966,990 through donations to date.

The bulk of that – some $450,000 – has come from Simon Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 group, but she has secured donations from a host of prominent Perth identities, including Janet Holmes a Court ($50,000), company director Diane Smith-Gander ($1500), Perth deputy lord mayor Di Bain ($500), and her father ($11,000).

Perth’s western suburbs have been plastered with an unprecedented number of political corflutes in recent weeks.

Ms Hammond, who has held the seat since 2019, told The Australian the battle for Curtin had been a costly one, with her party having to try to match Ms Chaney’s campaign. “The difference this time … is that with the Climate 200 supported candidate, there’s a lot more money being spent … and that is very visible throughout the electorate, whether it be signs or social media advertising,” she said.

“You do actually have to match that activity that the money’s being spent on, but nothing compares to the one-on-one personal interactions with people. You can’t spend money on that, that’s hard work and getting out there and meeting with people and being available.”

She said while the central theme of Ms Chaney’s campaign, climate change, had been a significant issue raised during her interactions with voters, it was not a “first-order issue” across the electorate.

Instead, Ms Hammond said the state of the economy was the most commonly raised issue.

She said the Coalition could have done a better job talking up the merits of its climate change policy. “I do believe our commitment to net zero by 2050, and the fact we’ve got a detailed plan … does speak to a lot of people’s concerns,” she said.

She has also had to explain her own record on climate change. In her first media interview after securing Liberal pre­selection for Curtin in 2019, she told The Australian she believed humans had made a “probably very minimal” contribution to climate change. Today, she blames her then inexperience in dealing with media and says she has no doubt on the role played by humans in climate change.