‘Gerrymander’: teal backer takes aim at donations cap
Crowdfunded political campaigns should not be subject to donation limits to level the playing field and stop “financial manipulation” of elections, a major teal independent supporter has said.
Appearing before the parliamentary inquiry into the 2025 federal election, Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes The court criticized political donations reforms that he said had consolidated the status of the major parties.
Under reforms adopted in 2025, donations to a party branch or candidate are capped at $50,000 per donor.
But major parties have access to $450,000 because parties have access to $50,000 in donations from eight state and territory branches and the federal department.
This puts independent campaigns at a significant disadvantage compared with the major parties, Mr Holmes heard.
“This new financial gerrymand could throw the duo a much-needed lifeline, but it is bad news for our beloved democracy,” he told the inquiry on Friday.
“This is not reform. This is incumbency preservation by removing the drawbridge so the political class can continue to defeat voters.”
Climate 200 founder says donation laws should not go into effect until the looming Supreme Court issue is resolved.
The law includes a spending cap of $800,000 per voter, but registered political parties have access to a $90 million war chest for general advertising.
“If parties can spend up to $3 million per seat, then independents should be able to spend up to $3 million per seat, and at the moment you can too, whereas an independent is only allowed to spend $800,000,” Chief Justice Holmes said.
He said that titles should be removed from campaigns in which major parties are not involved.
“We are not against capital letters,” Mr. Holmes told a Court.
“One of the things we want is for crowdfunding campaigns that pool small donations to not be capped.
“If the money came in a controlled manner, the organization collecting it should be able to distribute it throughout the country, like other political actors.”
The Australian Electoral Commission’s latest political donations disclosure figures said Climate 200 spent $5 million in the 2024/25 financial year.
Labor Party national secretary Paul Erickson also gave evidence to the inquiry, saying donations laws leveled the playing field.
Mr Erickson, who helped Labour’s 2025 campaign which won the party 94 seats in the lower house, said the reforms had helped reduce the influence of bigger donors.
“One of the most attractive aspects of the new financing and disclosure regime is that it takes the arms race dynamic in these domestic contests off the table,” he said.
“The system was beginning to advantage high-net-worth individuals, networks, and organizations, and in some cases was creating environments where one or two actors were crowding out all other voices in the campaign.”
Mr Erickson said the reforms would limit powers in election campaigns like that of mining magnate Clive Palmer.
Mr. Palmer was the biggest donor in the last election campaign; It spent $53 million and pumped in more money than the Labor and Liberal parties combined.
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