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| Independents or Teal Party? |
In addition to the pro-Labor voting habits of so-called 'fake independents' (Voting record sparks warning on 'fake independents', The Australian, 7 April 2022), the number of 'fake' independents funded by Climate 200 is cause for concern.
Despite claims that Climate 200's funding comes with 'no strings attached', there is a clear ideological agenda that permeates the platforms of members of what is effectively a 'political party in disguise'. The only organisational difference between Climate 200 and Clive Palmer's United Australia Party is that everybody knows the identity of the billionaire behind candidates of the UAP.
Not so the so-called independents funded by Climate 200. The moral high-ground assumed by members of the Climate 200 political 'non-party' has a rather disingenuous element of non-disclosure that Palmer's United Australia Party, for all its faults, does not. While our political system allows for billionaires to attempt to influence politics, Palmer's party does so without apology, enabling voters to make informed choices when confronted with a barrage of well-funded campaign advertising.
Independents funded by Climate 200, however, present as benignly concerned citizens while otherwise fulfilling the wishes of an undisclosed billionaire.
The pretence of moral integrity adopted by so-called independents funded by Climate 200 needs to be called out so Australian voters can make informed choices.