Holmes a Court: ‘Climate 200 does not run campaigns or target seats’

Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court will claim his independents movement does not run campaigns or target seats despite the group providing funding, polling and election support for 35 hand-picked teal MPs and candidates.

Artwork: Emilia Tortorella

You can now listen to The Australian's articles. Give us your feedback.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles.

Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court will claim his independents movement does not run campaigns or target seats despite the cashed-up activist group providing funding, polling and election support for 35 hand-picked teal MPs and candidates.

The millionaire clean-tech investor, who engineered a Liberal Party bloodbath at the 2022 election, on Wednesday will defend the independence of Climate 200 in a pre-election address to the National Press Club.

Under pressure from Coalition attacks that the teal independents constitute a political party, Mr Holmes a Court will say “Climate 200 does not start campaigns, does not run campaigns, does not target seats or select candidates”.

Climate 200, which has promoted its endorsement of candidates and the seats they are targeting, bankrolls independent campaigns, provides campaign infrastructure support and conducts analytics via polling.

On the Climate 200 website, a pop-up donation ad on Tuesday showed Peter Dutton alongside Clive Palmer with the message: “Urgent Appeal: $1.1m raised … $500k remaining. Help independents fight back against Dutton’s 2 billion tonne carbon bomb”.

A screenshot of a pop-up ad calling for donations on the Climate 200 website.

Climate 200 is backing independent candidates in Coalition marginal, battleground and target electorates including Bradfield, Moore, Monash, Sturt, Wannon, Cowper, Calare, Deakin, Dickson, Solomon and Gilmore. These are in addition to seats won from the Liberal Party at recent elections including Wentworth, Mackellar, Warringah, Goldstein, Kooyong, Curtin, Indi and Mayo.

The self-described community crowd-funded initiative is also strategically supporting candidates in Coalition seats where incumbents are retiring and in electorates considered to be future targets, including Forrest, Lyne, Grey, Flinders, McPherson, Fairfax, Moncrieff, Berowra, Casey, Groom, Fisher, Farrer and Riverina.

Climate 200, which supports candidates committed to “climate change, integrity in politics and gender equality”, is assisting independents in only four Labor seats, three of which are expected to come under pressure from the Coalition.

In his NPC address, Mr Holmes a Court will criticise the taxpayer-funded resources and communications budgets of incumbent major party MPs, and attack the Coalition and Labor for treating “electorates as if they are personal property”.

“In 2022, we saw a breakthrough result for independents. Eleven elected to parliament, seven for the first time, six in the house and David Pocock in the Senate – out of a pool of 23 contenders. That’s a success rate of almost 50 per cent,” Mr Holmes a Court will say.

“We now have the largest crossbench in the history of the modern parliament. And we are better for it. But let me make something clear: Climate 200 did not start this movement. We didn’t create it. Nor am I speaking for the community independents movement.

“I am simply someone who understands its power, and its potential. I’m not running for office, and the truth is parliament does not need more people like me in it. It needs more locals with real community standing. Not warriors of the left or right, but people who speak from – and for – the heart of their communities. This movement is not Climate 200’s.”

Mr Holmes a Court will argue the independents movement is the “product of thousands and thousands of regular people’s frustration with the status quo, of communities wanting to take back control of their future”.

“Climate 200 simply recognised this profound shift in our democracy and sought to provide the resources and support needed to help communities and their independent candidates succeed,” he will say.

“Climate 200 does not start campaigns. Climate 200 does not run campaigns. Climate 200 does not target seats or select candidates. Those responsibilities lie squarely with the communities themselves. Climate 200 comes to these campaigns relatively late in the game.”

The Liberal Party, which last year launched its “Teals Revealed” campaign to unseat Climate 200-backed independents, is hopeful of winning back Curtin, Goldstein, Mackellar and Kooyong, held by Kate Chaney, Zoe Daniel, Sophie Scamps and Monique Ryan. The key to Mr Dutton reclaiming some inner-city teal seats is a collapse in support for the Greens and Labor, which would depress the two-candidate-preferred vote of independents.

With almost one in three Australians voting for an independent or minor party in 2022, Labor and Coalition strategists are again bracing for historically low primary votes. Teal MPs have said they will wait for the election result before determining which side they would support in the event of a hung parliament.