Federal Election: Curtin shapes up as ‘seven-figure fight’ as Liberals build war chest to win back prized seat

The battle for Curtin is shaping as one of the last multi-million-dollar election contests with the Liberals building a war chest to win back the prized seat from teal independent Kate Chaney.

Liberal insiders say wealthy donors who deserted the party in 2022 are returning to the fold, with candidate Tom White on track to raise the seven-figure sum sources believe will be needed to win.

Ms Chaney is also starting to build her re-election war chest, with teal backers Climate 200 tipping almost $90,000 into her campaign just last week.

The Liberals are desperate to regain Curtin after losing the blue-ribbon seat in 2022.

Liberal sources said Mr White, a former Uber executive, was succeeding in winning back well-heeled voters who abandoned the party last time around — including some who donated to Ms Chaney’s campaign.

Mr White’s campaign turned a $200,000 profit in one night after more than 200 people paid almost $1000-per head to attend a fundraiser with former Liberal prime minister John Howard.

Ms Chaney received almost $1 million in cash donations for her successful 2022 campaign, almost half of which came from Climate 200.

Liberals say Mr White’s campaign is well on track to raise a similar sum, with one source saying: “If we don’t win it won’t be for a lack of resources”.

The White campaign has paid for two large billboards on the Stirling Highway, with plans for two more, while posters will be plastered inside bus shelters across the overlapping State seats of Scarborough and Churchlands.

“Tom White’s campaign in Curtin is attracting very encouraging levels of support on the ground, both in terms of volunteer support and fundraising,” a WA Liberal spokesman said.

“People in Curtin want a local member who is able to influence and deliver real outcomes.”

The coming election is set to be the last with seven-figure campaign funding, with Labor planning to introduce spending caps.

As part of sweeping electoral reforms that will include a lower donations disclosure threshold, the cap is expected to be under $1 million.

The changes are also expected to bring in requirements for more frequent reporting.

Ms Chaney chooses to proactively disclose donations in “real-time” because she believes voters deserve to know who is backing her campaign before casting their ballot.

She has disclosed almost $178,000 since January 1, according to The West Australian’s analysis of donations published on her website.

Almost $102,000 has come from Climate 200, with two donations totalling nearly $90,000 disclosed on August 28.

Ms Chaney would not be drawn on the reasons behind the timing of the sizeable donation, what the funds would be used for, or how much she expected to receive in total from Climate 200.

“Many people in my community think that the two-party system is unable to address the long-term challenges we face and will show their support through volunteering time or donating to my campaign,” Ms Chaney said in a statement.

“The support Climate 200 provides to independents comes from thousands of people who want to support values-aligned candidates.”

Ms Chaney said the Liberals opposed real-time reporting, pointing out that under existing laws voters would never find out how much the party was spending in Curtin.

A WA Liberal spokesman said the fact Ms Chaney hadn’t been able to convince the Federal Government to adopt her preferred model for donation reform showed her lack of influence in parliament.

“The most important form of transparency is to be clear with your community before an election, yet Ms Chaney still won’t say who she would support in the event of a hung parliament,” the spokesman said.

Asked about the timing of the donations to Ms Chaney’s campaign, Climate 200 executive director Byron Fay said “the earlier you give, the better”.

“Climate 200 has over a thousand supporters in WA, so it makes perfect sense for us to, again, get behind WA’s only Federal independent MP,” Mr Fay said.

“The major parties have stacked the game in their favour. They receive tens of millions of dollars in public funding each election cycle. For independents to compete, they need support.

“In her time in parliament, Kate has been working tirelessly to hold the government accountable, reduce the cost of living, accelerate climate action, and increase transparency and accountability of government.”