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Independent candidates with the biggest financial war chests failed to get elected at the May election, as Climate 200 and individual donors poured a record $27 million into community independent campaigns.
Independent challenger for the seat of Wannon, former radio presenter Alex Dyson, received the most donations of any independent at the last election, raising $2.2 million in donations that ultimately failed to clinch the Victorian seat from Liberal MP Dan Tehan.
He was followed by Caz Heise, a Climate 200-backed candidate who raised $2.1 million to make an unsuccessful tilt against the Nationals for the NSW seat of Cowper.
The fundraising effort for independent candidates raised significantly more in 2025 than in 2022, but new election donor rules to be introduced in July next year, putting a cap on donations that would see most Climate 200 funds ruled out, will change the landscape at the next federal election.
Monique Ryan raised the third-highest amount, raking in $1.9 million to hold on to the blue ribbon seat of Kooyong in a tight contest, while Zoe Daniel raised $1.8 million in her campaign to remain the member for Goldstein but was defeated by returning Liberal MP Tim Wilson.
Donations to major parties will be disclosed early next year.
Donations data for independent campaigns at the May election, uploaded to the Australian Electoral Commission’s transparency register on Monday, shows how Simon Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 fundraising vehicle raised $9.5 million from donors to provide $10.9 million to community candidates in the most recent financial year.
Of the money Climate 200 distributed, $1.9 million went to successful incumbents: MPs Sophie Scamps, Kate Chaney, Monique Ryan and Allegra Spender, who came to parliament in the “teal” wave of 2022, as well as independents Helen Haines, Andrew Wilkie and Rebekah Sharkie.
Climate 200 didn’t give funding to ACT Senator David Pocock or Warringah MP Zali Steggall in the latest financial year.
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Its donations to Bradfield MP Nicolette Boele – the only candidate to seize a seat from a major party – were not disclosed, because Boele did not register as an independent candidate for the purposes of donations.
“Donations were made to our campaign vehicle, not to Nicolette Boele as an individual,” said a spokeswoman for Boele.
“We’re compliant with AEC requirements, and this is the same process undertaken in 2022 … Our disclosures will appear when the major party disclosures appear.”
Under the rule changes that will be in place for the 2028 election, an entity such as Climate 200 could only donate up to $50,000 to a single candidate, and no more than $1.6 million across multiple candidates. According to the most recent disclosures, just four candidates – Jenny Rolfe, Clark MP Andrew Wilkie, Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie and Jessica Ness – would have come in under that amount.
Climate 200 was the biggest donor to independent campaigns in the last financial year. But its funding was supplemented – and often exceeded – by a cumulative $16.4 million in additional donations to individual campaigns, which brought the total donations raised for community independents to $27.2 million.
Share trader Robert Keldoulis, who donated $1 million directly to Climate 200, gave $3.3 million worth of donations to independent candidates overall. He was the second-biggest donor.
The third-largest donor was Keep Them Honest, owned by Fred Woollard, which gave $591,000 to independent campaigns. This masthead has previously reported that Woollard is the founder of Samuel Terry Asset Management, a boutique fund with significant investments in oil and gas.
It was followed by the Regional Voices Fund, which distributed $450,000 to regional independents, and Vida Impact Fund, which donated $377,000 to female independents. Vida is led by Jo Dyer, a former director of Adelaide Writers’ Week who stood as an independent candidate for the electorate of Boothby at the 2022 election.
Dyson, for example, received $983,000 from Climate 200 but a further $1.2 million from other fundraising efforts. About $355,000 came from Keldoulis, and $100,000 was donated by Victorian farmers Eve Kantor and Mark Wootton. Kantor is the niece of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
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Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps received $1 million on top of the $700,000 given to her by Climate 200, and Wentworh MP Allegra Spender received $1.5 million for her own campaign on top of $291,000 from Climate 200. Ryan’s campaign received $1.6 million on top of the $295,000 donation from Climate 200.
The biggest donors to Climate 200 were Keldoulis, the family charity linked to Australia’s 7-Eleven empire, and Norman Pater, a tech entrepreneur who also supports the Greens, as reported by this masthead on Saturday.
The AEC on Monday reported that Atlassian chief executive Mike Cannon-Brookes donated a further $300,000 to Climate 200, as did Trimtab Foundation, which is the philanthropic vehicle of Simon and Katrina Holmes à Court.
Caz Heise and Benjamin Smith, who were the biggest recipients of Climate 200 money, pulling in more than $1 million each from the fundraising body, would be 20 times above the limit.
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