There’s an old saying that the more a man goes out of his way to assure you of his honesty, the more closely you should watch your pockets. In politics, the more a party blatherskites about “integrity”, the more you know that they’re more crooked than Dan Andrew’s back at the bottom of a stairwell.
The Australian Greens are always banging on about “integrity” and “respect”: yet their party is an endless cesspool of shady donations, bullying, sexual harassment and worse.
Then there’s the Teals, party of the even-richer-than-the-Greens inner-city bourgeoisie.
A significant donor to Teal independent campaigns is a wealthy investor who took part in a $45 million takeover bid for an oil and gas company with interests in Australia and Africa earlier this year.
Remember, the Teals’ One Big Issue is climate change. They’re endlessly ranting against “fossil fuel interests”. Just don’t ask about theirs’.
But it gets even funnier.
Fred Woollard and Therese Cochrane, who are based in ritzy Sydney suburb Darling Point, are the directors of an entity known as Keep Them Honest Pty Ltd.
[Emphasis added]
You can’t make this stuff up.
A investment firm Mr Woollard founded – Samuel Terry Asset Management – launched a $45 million takeover bid for a listed oil and gas group Far Limited in January this year, according to The Australian.
This organisation is an Africa focused oil gas explorer and developer with assets in West Africa and Western Australia […]
The revelation raises questions for the independent MP Monique Ryan, who received a donation of $20,000 from the couple, after Ms Ryan told parliament this year: “Opening new coal and gas mines in Australia will add to the world’s use of fossil fuels and it will kneecap our ability to mitigate climate catastrophe.”
Sky News
Bad Mongo.
Despite their climate change near-monomania, and between bellowing at people to wear masks, the Teals have also found time to pontificate about “integrity”.
Yeah, about that…
The six teal independents who ousted Liberal MPs at the May election raised war chests worth $10.2m, with Climate 200 contributing half of their donations and triggering claims that Australia’s elections are “for sale”.
“Climate 200” is the plaything of essentially useless mining heir Simon Holmes a Court, the quintessential leech-like Trustafarian who has decided to fill his empty life by playing at being a Svengali for a bunch of upper-class, middle-aged busy-body women.
Australian Electoral Commission data published on Monday reveals Climate 200 donated almost $6m to independent candidates at the May poll, of which $4.5m went to the six successful teals – Allegra Spender, Kylea Tink, Monique Ryan, Zoe Daniel, Sophie Scamps and Kate Chaney.
But it’s understood the not-for-profit’s donations were actually much higher than the numbers released by the AEC, after it raised $13m from 11,200 donors and the “vast majority” was spent on the election campaign.
Feel the integrity.
Australian billionaire Scott Farquhar and Boundless Earth, which is chaired by Mr Farquhar’s Atlassian business partner Mike Cannon-Brookes, made the largest individual donations to Climate 200 for the 2022 election campaign at $1.5m and $1m, respectively.
Boundless Earth donated another $115,000 weeks out from the May 21 poll.
It might bear pointing out that Oxfam has revealed that Cannon-Brookes has a bigger personal carbon footprint than many entire countries… put together.
Former Liberal MP Tim Wilson, who lost his seat of Goldstein to Ms Daniel, said: “We can all now see the billionaires got what they wanted – their donations bought puppets in parliament to vote to prop up their failing investments with taxpayers dollars.”
The Australian
I’m no fan of ol’ Wet Wilson, whose woke antics did so much damage to the Liberals’ brand, but for once, he’s right on the dirty money.