WHILE many voters see the proliferation of Independent candidates in the upcoming Federal Election as a positive, there are negative stories being circulated about their sources of funding.

Independent candidate for Cowper, Caz Heise, is someone affected by rumours that the Climate 200 organisation, which provided her with some funding, is some sort of nefarious ‘greenie’ organisation.

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The organisation, set up by Simon Holmes à Court, has published a list of all its donors on its website, and Ms Heise is committed to posting a list of all her donations above $1000 on her website.

She said it was imperative all candidates were transparent about their funding sources.

“We know about two thirds of all donations made to the major parties are not accounted for,” Ms Heise said.

“When you see how much is donated to the Liberals and Nationals by the fossil fuel industry, big tobacco and companies which profit from gambling and alcohol you start to understand why real change that is important to the community is not happening.”

Two of the approximately 100 Climate 200 donors in Cowper spoke with News Of The Area about their involvement.

Both decided to donate to Climate 200 well before Ms Heise elected to run for Cowper.

One of the supporters is a public servant from Sawtell and does not wish to be identified.

She said, “I heard Simon Holmes à Court being interviewed on radio and he said that Climate 200 was simply about levelling the playing field so climate focused candidates stood a chance of competing against candidates funded by the fossil fuel lobby.

“That really resonated with me.

“I’m not a political person but I am passionate about the environment and so I like the idea of contributing to a cause which gives the environment the best chance of taking centre stage in an intelligent, factual and non-partisan way,” she continued.

The donor said she doesn’t care about the political colours of a candidate Climate 200 chooses to support but is interested in political outcomes which acknowledge the threat of climate change and the need to reduce emissions.

She said, “Because Climate 200 isn’t a political party, there are lots of other people I know in the state and commonwealth public service who are donors.

“It’s not a political act to support an organisation which simply wants action on climate change – it’s about knowledge, ethics and instinct.”

Roger Burke agrees.

He said, “I became aware of Climate 2000 after the 2019 election.”

Mr Burke donated several thousand dollars shortly after and then donated to Ms Heise’s campaign after she was selected by the ‘Voices of Cowper’ group.

He runs a kiln drying business and buys timber from a number of sawmills but his main business is building solar kilns that he invented 25 years ago.

He has sold approximately 200 kilns around the world.

Mr Burke said, “It makes no sense at all that people involved in the timber industry or any other business would not be interested in integrity in politics and in climate change action.

“If we have integrity in government, everything else falls into place.

“I’m amazed at the misconceptions about Climate 2000,” Mr Burke said.

He said wealthy entrepreneurs Simon Holmes à Court and Mike Cannon-Brookes established it, but the donations of approximately $8 million have come from ordinary people.

He compared this to $150 million spent by the major parties last election, with an additional $80 million from Clive Palmer.

Much of the money behind the two major parties is from large corporate donors, often obscured, who, in return, expect favourable treatment from the government, in Mr Burke’s opinion.

He said donations to C200 and most independents are largely from individuals with no agenda other than integrity and climate action.

Mr Burke said, “It’s a fact that most of us deal honestly with one another in business and our daily lives, so why do we not insist on this from politicians?

“A hung parliament is the best possible outcome for this election.”

According to Mr Burke, Independent MPs can negotiate with the Government for better emissions targets and a Federal ICAC.

Mr Burke said, “When we vote for a representative, we shouldn’t expect that they will stand up for everything we believe in, but we should vote for someone who broadly stands up for our major principles.”

By Andrew VIVIAN