The financial controller who did not reveal a $100,000 donation to independent MP Zali Steggall also failed to disclose a payment from Alex Turnbull, the son of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, to a separate campaign that tried to bring down a Liberal cabinet minister.
Damien Hodgkinson, a key figure in the Climate 200 campaign to back independent candidates at the coming election, did not disclose the $25,000 payment from Mr Turnbull until almost two years after it was made.
Alex Turnbull donated to former Liberal Julia Banks.
The failure to report the payment, which helped former Liberal MP Julia Banks challenge Health Minister Greg Hunt for the blue-ribbon seat of Flinders at the last election, drew a formal rebuke from the Australian Electoral Commission in an audit last year.
The commission’s ruling deepens a dispute over the level of disclosure in Australian politics when Mr Hodgkinson is under scrutiny as the financial controller for independent candidates including Allegra Spender in the electorate of Wentworth and Monique Ryan in the Melbourne seat of Kooyong.
Mr Hodgkinson, a corporate adviser based in Sydney, is a director of the Climate 200 group set up by Simon Holmes a Court, who said on Wednesday the campaign had raised $7 million so far in a bid to sweep independent candidates into Parliament.
Mr Turnbull said the issue was only a misunderstanding over who should have lodged the information with the AEC in 2019.
“Sometimes people forget paperwork,” he said.
Mr Turnbull noted that many people forget paperwork and the major political parties often had to amend their disclosures at the AEC. Ms Banks did not respond to a request for comment. Mr Hodgkinson did not reply to emails or phone calls.
Mr Holmes a Court accused the Liberal Party of accepting millions of dollars in undisclosed funds, including $2.8 million paid to the Kooyong 200 Club over five years to support Treasurer Josh Frydenberg without any individual donor identified.
With government MPs attacking Ms Steggall and Climate 200 over their disclosures, Mr Holmes a Court used a speech at the National Press Club to challenge the major parties to commit to disclosing all donations as soon as they were made, saying his group was already releasing the names of donors.
Liberals have accused Ms Steggall of hypocrisy for accepting $100,000 from the family of coal millionaire John Kinghorn in a payment that was treated as eight separate contributions below the $13,200 disclosure limit even though it was paid with a single cheque.
The Kinghorn family payment was made in 2019 when Mr Hodgkinson was the financial director for Ms Steggall’s campaign entity, Warringah Independent, but the source of the money was disclosed only in February 2021 after an audit by the AEC.
The payment from Mr Turnbull was also made in 2019 when Mr Hodgkinson was the financial controller for Peninsula Independent, the company supporting Ms Banks in her bid to defeat Mr Hunt, but the source of the funds was disclosed only in February 2021 after a separate AEC audit.
While Mr Turnbull’s support for Ms Banks was known at the time of the last election, the payment was not.
“Total electoral expenditure disclosed by the political campaigner was under-stated in the political campaigner’s 2018-19 annual disclosure return,” the commission ruled in an audit of Peninsula Independent published on February 11 last year.
“In view of the discrepancies identified, the return did not comply with the provisions of Section 314AC and Section 314AB(2) of the Electoral Act.”
Mr Hodgkinson lodged a financial return for the Banks campaign with the AEC in October 2019 but claimed total electoral expenditure of only $107,942.
After checking, the commission found the campaign spent $147,013 and the money from Mr Turnbull – which was an “other receipt” rather than a donation – was not disclosed.
Peninsula Independent claimed total receipts of $205,218 including $40,000 from Climate 200 and the $25,000 from Mr Turnbull.
The Kooyong 200 Club, the Liberal Party entity singled out for criticism from Ms Steggall and Climate 200 in recent days, has reported the total amount it has collected from supporters but has not named individual donors in its annual returns.
The Kooyong 200 Club’s financial controller, Justin Bergman, did not respond to questions from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age about the source of the contributions.
Greens Senator Larissa Waters asked the Australian Electoral Commissioner, Tom Rogers, about the Kooyong 200 Club in Senate estimates on Tuesday night, to which he said the only way to uncover the names of donors would be through a compliance investigation.
“It’s laughable to hear the Treasurer attacking someone for disclosure irregularities when … [an] organisation funded by dark money pumped more than one million dollars into his re-election campaign,” Senator Waters told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
“Kooyong 200 is just one of many fundraising vehicles that elude current disclosure laws. The Treasurer should be beyond reproach when it comes to declaring donations, but prefers to keep the public in the dark about who is funding him.
“We need greater transparency of donations and income received by all associated entities, something the Greens have been calling for for over a decade.”
The AEC has about 30 compliance investigations underway at the moment.
Mr Holmes a Court defended Mr Hodgkinson on Wednesday during a speech to the National Press Club in which he argued that it made sense for independent candidates to use the same accountants, printers and other services to support their campaigns.
“I have no problems at all with Damien staying in the role – he’s an excellent controller,” Mr Holmes a Court said.
Mr Holmes a Court said Ms Steggall had resolved the issue with the Kinghorn donation to the “complete satisfaction” of the AEC one year ago.
“We are scrupulous in our compliance with all of the regulations,” he said of Climate 200.
“The vast majority of our donors are on our website. We’ve been proactively reaching out to the AEC, they’re aware of how we operate, and what we do.
“They haven’t flagged any issues, yet, but if they do we will implement any changes promptly.
“We have really strong internal processes that would flag any donations that are worthy of further review.”
Climate 200 executive director Byron Fay said the disclosure laws were complex and disclosures were often amended in line with advice from the AEC.
“Climate 200 is not aware of the facts in this matter,” he said. “If you review the AEC returns, you will see multiple instances where they have been updated.”
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