Wotif founder made $200,000 contribution to Tony Windsor election campaign

Details of funding for Mr Windsor’s campaign for the NSW rural electorate – eventually won convincingly by Mr Joyce – were revealed in the list of election candidate financial returns, released today by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

Mr Wood donated $200,000 to help bankroll Mr Windsor’s campaign which he stated publicly to media voluntarily in late July, several weeks after the election, claiming his donations, including large sums to the Greens in Victoria and Tasmania, had reflected his long-term support for more progressive politics.

“Conservatism, especially of the ultra-right variety, bogs us down in antiquated thinking at a time when bold progressive ideas and policy development are needed to face the social, environmental and economic challenges of our day,” the businessman said in a media statement at the time.

Mr Windsor’s AEC return for the 2016 election also showed he raised $488,528.08 overall from a total of 7241 donors.

Mr Wood’s $200,000 contribution was one of two entries for donations of more than $13,200 that must be disclosed under the Electoral Act.

Another donation that required disclosure was $15,000 from Golden Lineage of Biggera Waters, in Queensland that’s understood to be a family investment trust used previously by wealthy businessman Ian Melrose, to also donate to the Nick Xenophon Team.

The AEC disclosure today also revealed Mr Windsor’s campaign expenditure at the 2016 federal election exceeded $600,000.

That total included $220,913.15 on election-related broadcast advertising, $145,797.14 on election-related published advertising and $80,008.19 on election-related opinion polling or research.

Mr Windsor resigned from New England after holding the seat for 12-years, ahead of the 2013 federal election after having the balance of power in the hung parliament.

The seat was easily won by Mr Joyce after he moved to the Lower House from being a Senator for Queensland and he won it for a second term this year after claiming 52.29pc of the primary vote, after winning 54.21pc in 2013.

Mr Windsor has returned to farming on his family’s property and told Fairfax Agricultural Media political donations to independent candidates were “ultra-transparent”.

But in contrast, he said those made to the major parties, not just the Nationals, including from mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, could not be traced back to individual candidates.

Mr Windsor said while $2.5 million to $3 million may have been donated to fund Mr Joyce’s re-election campaign in New England this year, his individual AEC return says it was “nil”.

“It’s an insult to the system that none of that money (donated to the party) accrues to him,” he said.

“It goes to the party and they feed it out.

“The Labor party is just as guilty as anybody else of doing it, including the Liberals.

“I’ve always abided by the law and if there’s a call for transparency, I’ve always provided it.

“The major parties don’t do individual returns so linking the donor to the candidates does not take place.

“We’ve argued against this for years but for independents the system is ultra-transparent.”

Mr Windsor said while he didn’t know the actual reason or reasons why Mr Wood donated to his campaign this year, he believed it was likely due to his previous support for measures to tackle climate change, in the hung parliament.

“I think he admired the way I operated in the hung parliament but he’d have to answer that question himself,” he said.

“He’s been very strong on climate change and I’d like to think that I have too.”

Mr Windsor said the list of 7241 donors to his campaign indicated many people, in and out of the electorate, who “wanted to help out”.

He said one individual donor from Cairns had provided $20 from his fortnightly pension cheque.

“There was a lot of people like that; it was very humbling,” he said.

The AEC said party financial disclosure returns for the 2015–16 financial year would be available for public inspection on February 1 next year.

Independent Victorian MO Cathy McGowan issued a statement thanking 1490 donors who contributed almost $204,000 to support her grassroots re-election campaign for Indi which she first won in 2013.

Ms McGowan said donations to the 2016 “Cathy McGowan for Indi” campaign came from individuals and at 65 events held throughout the electorate, and in Sydney and Melbourne with donors giving on average, $137 each.

“It is endorsement of the engagement within Indi; evidence that the community wanted, and continues to support something different from traditional party politics,” she said.

“There were no corporates, no unions and no large donors involved in my campaign.

“I note the lack of transparency from my opponents from the Liberal and National parties regarding how much they each spent in Indi.”

Returns released for the NTX, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Family First Party also showed zero dollars for campaign donors.

The return for Katter’s Australian Party leader and Queensland Kennedy MP Bob Katter showed 10 donors for $30,650 and expenditure of $4445 for election-related broadcast advertising and $24,536 for the cost of producing campaign-related materials.