Climate 200 spent $11 million getting teal candidates re-elected only to go backwards

Renewable energy advocate Simon Holmes à Court spent almost $11 million getting teal candidates elected this year only to go backwards electorally, new disclosures show.

The Australian Electoral Commission reported today that Holmes à Court’s Climate 200 group gave 35 candidates $10.858 million across every State and Territory for the May Federal election. The investment helped eight win seats.

The outlay was more than the Greens and the National Party spent in the year before the election.

Climate 200’s recipients included Nicolette Boele, who won the Sydney north shore electorate of Bradfield from the Liberal Party by 26 votes following a recount.

The total representation of teals fell despite the big outlay. Former ABC foreign correspondent Zoe Daniel lost her Melbourne bayside seat of Goldstein to Liberal frontbencher Tim Wilson and Kylea Tink’s North Sydney electorate was abolished.

Zali Steggall, the independent member for Warringah covering Sydney’s northern beaches and lower north shore, wasn’t listed as Climate 200 funding recipient despite being a teal independent.

Nor was David Pocock, a former Wallabies captain who was this year re-elected as a senator for the Australian Capital Territory.

Associate Professor Paul Williams, a Griffith University political commentator, said the independent candidates faced an uphill battle to get elected without help from a group like Climate 200.

“If they didn’t have a Climate 200 network, if they didn’t have Holmes a Court, they’d have next to no chance,” he told The Nightly.

“Unless an independent has a prior public profile - that might be as a former mayor or they’re a successful business person or a successful sporting star - it’s very difficult to get up.”

Professor Williams compared the $11m spent by Climate 200 to the $80m mining magnate Clive Palmer spent in 2019, which resulted in no candidates being elected.

“I would call it the upper level of acceptable or upper level of norm. It’s not outrageous,” he said.

“The fact they’ve helped re-shape the political landscape means that unlike Clive Palmer, they’re getting bang for their big bucks.”

Wealthy individuals also made big contributions to the teal campaigns with Janet Holmes a Court, the mother of Simon Holmes a Court, donating $17,500 to Kate Chaney, the teal independent for the Perth seat of Curtin.

Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney gave his daughter $25,000.

Alex Turnbull, the son of former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, donated $25,000 to Allegra Spender, the teal member for the Sydney eastern suburbs seat of Wentworth.

Property developer Hilton Grugeon gave $20,000 to independent Andrew Gee, who defected from the Nationals over the Voice referendum.

Green trouble

By comparison, the Greens spent $6.835m in 2023-24 through their Federal and State branches. The AEC is yet to publish how much the political parties spent at the 2025 election. Seven Green MPs and senators were re-elected.

The last election saw former Greens leader Adam Bandt lose his seat of Melbourne, following an unfavourable redistribution. The party also lost Brisbane and Griffith to Labor, which were previously held by Stephen Bates and Max Chandler-Mather.

Mr Bandt’s successor, Larissa Waters, was re-elected to the Senate, as was her deputy Mehreen Faruqi and fellow senators Nick McKim, Sarah Hanson-Young, Steph Hodgins-May and Jordon Steele-John who faced re-election this year.

Elizabeth Watson-Brown, a former architect, retained the Brisbane inner-west seat of Ryan, making her the only remaining Greens MP in the House of Representatives.

Nationals power

The Nationals spent $8.266m to keep every lower house seat they held in NSW and Victoria, with Perin Davey losing her New South Wales Senate seat.

Pat Conaghan retained the Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour-based seat of Cowper on the NSW Mid-North Coast with a small swing to him despite facing another challenge from Climate 200-backed Caz Heise.

“It goes to show that metro money funding metro ideology can’t buy regional people,” he told The Nightly.

“I’m not ashamed to admit that to have a small positive swing towards me in the face of that expensive, seven-month campaign onslaught from the Climate 200 candidate is particularly satisfying.”

The Nationals kept all its Queensland seats, with its members and senators belonging to the Liberal National Party.

After the election Northern Territory Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price defected from the Nationals to the Liberal Party room.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, who was re-elected in May as a Nationals candidate, has confirmed he won’t be running with the party again in New England in northern NSW and is considering joining Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.