Federal election 2025: $2m grudge match in Curtin sees teal and Liberal coffers overflow with cash

Liberals have vowed to “fight fire with fire”, as the battle for the crucial seat of Curtin in this year’s Federal election turns into a multimillion-dollar shootout. With the Climate 200-backed Kate Chaney expected to spend at least $1 million defending her seat in 2025, Liberal candidate for Curtin, Tom White, has revealed he too is building a massive war chest to take her on. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times, Mr White all but admitted the Liberals would at least match Ms Chaney’s expected $1m plus spend in Curtin, held with a 1.3 per cent margin. Sources say the fight for Curtin — billed as a grudge match between the Teals and the Liberals — is likely to be a $2.5m contest in what would be the biggest spend ever seen for any WA electorate at either a Federal or State election. Asked if speculation the Liberals would be throwing $1m at Curtin were accurate, Mr White told The Sunday Times: “I’m not going to put a precise number on it, but that would not be a ridiculous statement to make. “I am not going to dispute that number. “Kate spent close to $1m (last election). “I would like to not have to spend that much money in this seat, and I think that would be most people’s preference. “But you have to fight fire with fire. “You have to deal with the world as it is, not as you want it to be.” Climate 200 convener Simon Holmes a Court was this week lambasted by Liberals for comparing former prime minister Scott Morrison’s popularity to that of child abuse offender Rolf Harris. “How can any of the teals claim they are about lifting the standard of politics if they take Simon Holmes a Court’s money?” deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said. Asked by The Sunday Times on Saturday whether she would continue to accept money from Mr Holmes a Court, Ms Chaney replied: “The big parties can’t seem to grasp that Climate 200 isn’t ‘Simon Holmes a Court money’ — it’s funded by 35,000 everyday Australians who are fed up with the major parties putting their own interests first. “Meanwhile, they attack my support while hiding their own donors and actively resisting donation transparency.” Ms Chaney’s victory in 2022 was a shock given Curtin had been a Liberal stronghold for decades, including by former deputy leader and foreign minister Julie Bishop, who once held it with a margin of more than 15 per cent. In 2022, Ms Chaney threw just under $1m at winning Curtin — nearly half of that money donated by Mr Holmes a Court’s Climate 200. Ms Chaney this week returned fire on the Liberals, saying that unlike her opponent she declared details of all her donations on her website for everyone to see. And Mr Holmes a Court, a huge fan of Ms Chaney, issued an ominous warning to the cashed-up Liberals, saying he intended to “help level the playing field in Curtin” by pouring more cash into her campaign. Mr Holmes a Court told The Sunday Times that Climate 200 planned to “support up to 30 community independents in 2025” — including Curtin. “Once again Kate Chaney is up against the major party money machine and their millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded support,” he said. “As in 2022, Climate 200 hopes to help level the playing field in Curtin.” Ms Chaney criticised the Liberals for a lack of transparency on who was donating to their campaign. “The Liberal Party is quick to jump up and down about my donors while revealing nothing about their own,” she said. “They’ve actively opposed greater donation transparency and, under current laws, you’ll never know how much my Liberal opponent spends trying to reclaim Curtin. “This secrecy erodes trust in our political system and keeps voters in the dark. “Meanwhile, they’re pouring money into advertising as if Curtin is a seat they’re entitled to. “But politics isn’t about entitlement — it’s about earning trust and delivering for the community.” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has until the middle of May to call a Federal election. Liberals told The Sunday Times this week that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton believed he had a pathway to the Lodge — and regaining Curtin and Tangney, as well as winning the new Federal seat of Bullwinkel, was crucial. In Perth last year, Mr Dutton warned voters of the “disaster” that would unfold if Ms Chaney joined hands with Mr Albanese to help form a minority government. “Having a teal in a minority government with Anthony Albanese and other Greens is a disaster for the WA economy, for jobs, and for our country,” Mr Dutton said. “That’s why I’m determined to make sure that we can win back the seat of Curtin.” Ms Chaney and her fellow teals spent big last election. While Ms Chaney spent $975,203 on her 2022 campaign, her fellow teals spent even more — Allegra Spender outlaying $2.1m to win Wentworth and Monique Ryan also spending more than $2m to beat former treasurer Josh Frydenberg in Kooyong. The money has kept on rolling in for Ms Chaney as she defends her seat in the Federal Parliament. An analysis of Ms Chaney’s website shows since the beginning of 2024, she has received $531,000 in donations — $181,000 from Climate 200. Ms Chaney and Mr White’s $1m-plus war chests will be used on things like direct mail outs or personalised letters to electors, digital campaigning, billboards and local newspaper advertising. At a dinner last year, a John Howard-attended event raised more than $200,000 for Mr White’s election campaign — evidence Liberals are more than willing to part with their cash to get their one-time seat back. “The response we have had from donors has been very, very strong,” Mr White said. “There has been a lot of enthusiasm, which of itself does not win you an election. “It needs to be much, much deeper and more important than just raising money. “But at least on that dimension (money raised) we’re doing very well.”