Libs to spend millions to sandbag key seats of Kooyong and Higgins

Author: John Ferguson in the Australian

Up to $2m will be spent by the Liberals in two critical Victorian seats to head off the ambitions of green activist Simon Holmes a Court and rival left parties.

Josh Frydenberg is to spend a minimum of $1m in the once-heartland seat of Kooyong, already splashing expensive digital billboards across the Melbourne electorate.

The neighbouring Liberal seat of Higgins, for years under siege from the Greens and Labor, will also receive a “whatever it takes” injection of cash to keep incumbent Katie Allen in office, amid an influx of support from conservatives eager to create a dam wall for the party in Melbourne’s inner east.

Climate is a central issue in Higgins and Kooyong as the party federally increasingly accepts the importance of the issue, evidenced by the $1bn injected into the Great Barrier Reef this week.

Climate 200-backed independent Monique Ryan said the Liberal Party would massively outspend her in the push to win Kooyong.

“We know we can’t match what the Liberal Party will throw at us,” she said.

However, her campaign will also be heavily supported, with Mr Holmes a Court planning to raise up to $20m to back climate independents across Australia and significant grassroots backing for her campaign.

On current Liberal polling, the party would hold Kooyong and Higgins, with support increasing compared with 2019, after Malcolm Turnbull – the darling of inner-city Melbourne small “l” Liberals – was dumped as prime minister.

Liberal insiders said Mr Frydenberg had spent about $1.5m in 2019 and that it was possible his fight for the seat in 2022 could be just as expensive, with the electoral margin whittled down over the years to 6.4 per cent.

Evidence of Mr Frydenberg’s spending is everywhere in Kooyong, with two super-sized digital billboards at Kew Junction and a glossy pre-Christmas mailout on lowering emissions.

Paying normal industry rates for the Kew billboards could cost anywhere between $20,000 and $60,000 a week, industry insiders said, but special deals can be reached for long-term campaigns and price is contingent on traffic flow. It would not be uncommon for political parties to receive concessional rates.

There are at least seven Frydenberg billboards in Kooyong, including three at Kew Junction and two at nearby Camberwell, dubbed the “village of privilege” by some locals.

Another billboard is above a fast-food carvery and another above a petrol station in the heart of well-heeled Hawthorn.

The party is quietly confident that Ms Allen will hold Higgins, which has a margin of just 3.7 per cent. She is viewed internally as a strong campaigner who has fought hard on climate and other moderate Liberal issues.

There is no high-profile independent running as yet in her seat.The Higgins branch is also believed to have strong financial reserves, with a minimum $700,000 likely to be spent, although there is capacity for more to be injected into the campaign if there is a larger swing between now and polling day.

“We are not losing Higgins. Katie’s cashed-up,” a branch member said.

The huge Liberal spend in two electorates reflects both the candidates’ ability to raise money, in part because of the location of the seats, but also because of their respect in the community.

Mr Frydenberg, a potential future party leader, has extensive business contacts but also support within his own personal community. The Treasurer’s biggest advantage in 2022 appears to be the low profile of the Greens compared with 2019, when barrister Julian Burnside ran. In his place this year is commercial lawyer Piers Mitchem.

Ms Ryan, a respected neurologist, is backed by two local groups, Voices of Kooyong and Kooyong Independents, with funding from the Climate 200 group.

Mr Holmes a Court is convenor of Climate 200 and the organisation is modelled on the Liberal Kooyong 200 Club.

Ms Ryan said it was a tough ask for an independent to win a seat like Kooyong, adding: “I can’t drive around the electorate without seeing Mr Frydenberg.”

She also said she had received less from Climate 200 than she had received from grassroots, community supporters.

Disaffected Liberals John Hewson and Julia Banks are on Climate 200’s advisory council.

Modern election campaigns have changed markedly, with safer federal seat campaigns being run on as little as $350,000, but closer to $500,000, according to senior Liberals.

The amount of resources poured into seats can change during the campaign depending on how internal polling is going, with the other major expense being direct mail.

It is also common for wealthy electorates like Kooyong and Higgins to provide fundraising money to other poorer seats.

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