Seven parties received $2.5 million in public funding, see what they each got

Public funding of more than $2.5 million has been distributed among seven registered parties that contested the 19 October election.

The two major parties each received a little less than $1 million, followed by the ACT Greens with almost $339,000.

New entrant Independents for Canberra, which ran a ticket in each electorate with Thomas Emerson being elected in Kurrajong, received almost $237,000.

Fiona Carrick Independent, which ran three candidates in Murrumbidgee and successfully put Fiona Carrick into the Legislative Assembly, pocketed $74,000.

Then followed the Belco Party and Family First, which ran in Ginninderra, with about $26,000 each. Their candidates did not manage to win a seat.

ACT Electoral Commissioner Damian Cantwell said a registered political party was eligible to receive election funding for the votes obtained by its endorsed candidates who together polled at least 4 per cent of the total number of formal first preference votes cast in an electorate.

He said a non-party candidate was eligible to receive election funding if the candidate polls at least 4 per cent of the total number of formal first preference votes cast in the relevant electorate.

“For the October 2024 election, the rate of public funding was calculated at 1015.896 cents per eligible vote,” Mr Cantwell said. “Public funding payments totalled $2,584,774.68 across the seven parties.”

He said no party or candidate was obliged to accept public funding, but the money would reimburse the parties for their campaign costs.

Region asked each of the seven recipients how they would use the funding.

Labor said its funding went to campaign costs that would exceed its allocation.

ACT Labor secretary Ash van Dijk said the expenditure cap for the 2024 ACT Election was $1,253,375, and Labor’s costs would be disclosed in the election return due in December.

“It will show we spent closer to the $1.2 million than $950,000,” he said.

“ACT Labor spent in excess of the public funding during the course of the ACT election; in effect, the funds have already been spent.”

Mr van Dijk said ACT Labor supported the public funding of elections to limit the reliance on third-party donations during ACT elections.

“ACT Labor supports the position that parties and candidates should not profit from elections and funding should be capped to the party or candidate’s expenditure during the campaign,” he said.

This was a recommendation made by the Assembly committee inquiry into the 2020 ACT Election and the Electoral Act.

The government’s response to this recommendation was that further consideration and analysis were required on its implications and how it would be implemented as part of future legislative reforms.

Independents for Canberra secretary Leigh Cox said the party had distributed its funding directly to each of the candidates in proportion to the number of votes they received.

“This arrangement was decided at the start of the year as a way of compensating candidates who left their jobs and/or made significant financial contributions to their campaigns,” he said.

“Almost half of the total value of donations we received during the campaign came from candidates’ own pockets.”

Mr Cox said a number of candidates had donated a small portion of funding back to Independents for Canberra, which will be used to cover ongoing administrative costs such as website maintenance and public liability insurance.

It is understood the Canberra Liberals have spent their funding on campaign costs.