May 9, 2026 — 5:50am
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson will face a cashed-up independent challenger in her marginal seat of Kew for the first time after the funder of the teal movement, Climate 200, exploited a temporary gap in Victoria’s donation laws.
Climate 200 co-convenor Simon Holmes à Court revealed to this masthead his organisation had tipped $40,000 into the campaign of independent candidate Sophie Torney, who is seeking to topple Wilson, and made a matching donation to Shima Ibuki, an independent running against former Liberal leader John Pesutto in Hawthorn.
The donations would have been illegal – and punishable by up to 10 years in jail – had they been made before April 15, when the High Court struck out Victoria’s campaign finance laws as unconstitutional. Under the previous regime, the maximum that any individual or organisation could donate to a candidate was $4970.
There are currently no limits on the size of private donations to political candidates in Victoria, or any requirement for those donations to be disclosed.
Source: 47737373
5 Comments
Its likely many other donors are doing similar but because its climate200 its getting attention.
These donation caps are about protecting the status quo and nothing to do with keeping money out of politics. Major parties can split massive donations between candidates. It’s still a racket, just a protected racket.
To think that LibLab and The Greens introduced laws that would’ve completely prevented Climate 200 funding (in excess of $4800) just so they could protect their little plaything, being Governance of Victoria.
Thank fuck for the two independents and the High Court.
To those non-Victorians. It would’ve meant no David Pocock. No Kali Steggall. No Monique Ryan. No Teals whatsoever.
I’m not even a Teal fan, but at least they’re not LibLab.
Victoria is a fucking disgrace. And they’re trying to keep it that way. Bring on November.
They’re not ‘exploiting’ anything.
They’re donating as allowed following the striking down of an unconstitutional and anti-democratic law that benefited the major parties at their expense.
The donations would have been illegal if there was a law that made them illegal
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