Teal MP Zoe Daniel referred to National Anti-Corruption Commission over Simon Holmes à Court favour

Zoe Daniel, an independent MP who went to Canberra promising to help clean up politics, has been referred to the Federal anti-corruption commission.

Former Liberal MP and NSW party president Jason Falinski on Tuesday formally asked the National Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the inner-city Melbourne politician for lobbying on behalf of one of her financial supporters, wealthy renewables campaigner Simon Holmes à Court, to keep him out of the press.

Staff working for the Goldstein MP requested The Australian Financial Review remove Mr Holmes à Court from the “covert” section of an annual list of influential Australians, according to Mr Falinski’s letter, which was based on the newspaper’s own coverage.

“If this reporting is accurate, then there has been a misuse of taxpayer-funded resources, specifically involving Ms Daniel’s staff, who are alleged to have been engaged in lobbying efforts on behalf of her donors,” the letter to Commissioner Paul Brereton said.

The complaint illustrates how the commission can be used by politicians to attack each other — one of the main concerns raised by sceptics before it was created by the Federal Labor Government.

Ms Daniel’s spokesman said the MP hadn’t heard about the complaint and would wait for any notification from the commission or Mr Falinski before responding publicly. Liberal Tim Wilson, who she beat by 3 per cent last election, is running against her again.

Mr Falinski’s letter quoted an AFR article, which said that another independent MP, Allegra Spender, had also lobbied on behalf of Mr Holmes à Court, who established Climate 200, a fundraising company that was the driving financial force behind the election of five teal independents at the 2022 Federal poll.

“About two weeks after The Australian Financial Review Magazine’s Power list panel met to finalise the 2024 lists, teal independent Allegra Spender walked into the paper’s Canberra bureau seeking a favour,” the article said.

“She was not on either the covert or overt lists and, technically, she should not have known who was … Spender was visiting the Financial Review’s press gallery office on behalf of Simon Holmes à Court.

“Polite as ever, she requested Holmes à Court be removed from the covert list because he did not want to be on it. Her submission came as no surprise. A staffer for teal independent Zoe Daniel had already rung with the same request, as had a spokeswoman for Climate 200.”

Ms Spender’s spokesman said the article was incorrect but didn’t specify in what way. The paper didn’t agree to the request, and ranked Mr Holmes à Court seventh for covert power, one position behind News Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch.

Mining billionaire Mr Holmes à Court is the son of the late Robert Holmes à Court, who made billions trading in big companies, including BHP, Australia’s largest mining group. He didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Mr Holmes à Court is known to criticise people on social media who disagree with his strong support for wind and solar power subsidies. The Society of Engineers recently cancelled a seminar on nuclear energy when he complained on X. After members expressed outrage, the society backed down and rescheduled the talk.

Like other independents bankrolled by Mr Holmes à Court’s company, Ms Daniel was elected after promising to improve ethical standards in Canberra. As a foreign correspondent for the national broadcaster, she worked in Africa and the US.

“As a journalist of almost 30 years, I have built my career on my reputation on honesty and integrity,” she said at the launch of her campaign in 2021.

“These things, I think, are paramount qualities in leaders who are, or should be accountable to us. But these things are missing.

“We have waited to long for our current leaders to find these qualities, so we must make our voices heard.”

Under the commission’s media policy, it does not comment on any investigations it may be undertaking.