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January 4, 2025
Multimillionaire teal backer Simon Holmes a Court has been lashed and told to apologise after he compared Scott Morrison's popularity to that of child abuse offender Rolf Harris.
His comments have prompted senior Liberals to demand an apology to the former prime minister and have asked that the so-called independents who are backed by Mr Holmes a Court's Climate 200 body distance themselves from him.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said the comments were "disgusting" and "juvenile".
FULL REPORT PAGES 4-5 Teal backer refuses to take down sex abuser comparison Multimillionaire teal backer Simon Holmes a Court has been lashed and told to apologise after he compared Scott Morrison's popularity to that of child abuse offender Rolf Harris.
The social media post has prompted senior Liberals to demand an apology to the former prime minister and that the so-called independents backed by Mr Holmes a Court's Climate 200 body distance themselves from him.
The emergence of the teals, which based their campaign on tackling climate change and promoting integrity in politics, was one of the defining features of the 2022 Federal election. Climate 200 is preparing to support an even larger swath of candidates at this year's poll.
Mr Holmes a Court made the comparison in response to Mr Morrison's photo of himself, his wife Jenny, US president-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania captioned "HNY 2025 from Mar-a-Lago". The businessman and climate activist wrote that if Mr Morrison were to ever read the replies to the tweet, "it'll be the second time he'll have wished he could stay in the US and avoid coming back home" a reference to the former PM's infamous Hawaii trip in 2019.
"(Mr) Morrison is almost as popular as Rolf Harris," Mr Holmes a Court wrote.
His comparison to the late Australian entertainer, a convicted child sex offender, attracted immediate ire.
Mr Holmes a Court declined to comment when asked by The West Australian about the post.
Several teal MPs were contacted to comment about the post and the criticism it attracted, but have so far refused to weigh in.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said the post was "disgusting" and "juvenile" and Mr Holmes a Court owed the former prime minister an apology.
"The tweet should have been deleted yesterday, and he should apologise to Scott Morrison," she said. "Scott Morrison deserves respect for his service to Australia, regardless of whether you agree with his politics or his record.
"How can any of the teals claim they are about lifting the standard of politics if they take Simon Holmes a Court's money? This is a test for all politicians who have taken money from him and everyone that works at Climate 200."
Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson called on the teal MPs to explain whether they endorsed Mr Holmes a Court's "unhinged" views.
"Australia should be thanking Scott Morrison for keeping up the lines of communication with the next president of our most important ally, not vilifying him," he said.
"It reflects on the teals that their chief fundraiser thinks this is comparable to child sexual abuse.
"But it will harm our national interest if the teals hold the balance of power after the next election and can influence the foreign policy of a weak Labor Government."
North Sydney MP Kylea Tink dismissed his influence.
"Simon Holmes a Court's opinions are his own. He was not, nor has never been, my chief fundraiser and I have never consulted him on policy," she told The Australian.
Independent MPs who received Climate 200 backing were contacted for comment.
The electorate office of Curtin MP Kate Chaney was open on Friday but a spokeswoman said she was on holidays.
It's the second attack on the teals in a month after billionaire Clive Palmer sought to trademark the terms "teals" and "The Teal Party".
Independent member for Wentworth Allegra Spender told the National Press Club in October she was sick of the constant suggestions that Mr Holmes a Court or some other man was pulling the strings.
"I'm a woman of my middle ages, I've spent 10 or 15 years running companies, I've got three kids, I've got a life that I'm trying to run here and I feel this continual . . . insinuation that somebody out there is pulling the strings I think is insulting to me but I think it's insulting to women around Australia," she said.
Independent community candidates will, again, target Liberal-held seats as they seek to further capitalise on major party disenchantment and increase the size of the crossbench in what could push Labor into minority Government.
Political marketing expert Andrew Hughes said this was exactly why the teals should band together rather than bristle at being seen as a collective.
"If you're the teals, this is where it really matters. Because now this is the election where you're going to have the most influence, the most power and the most return on who you are," he said.
He thought the teals had not managed to land a blow on Liberal leader Peter Dutton not even on his nuclear power policy because they weren't consistent or co-ordinated.
The Coalition has ramped up its warning that if Labor was forced to rely on the support of teals or the Greens, that would weaken Australia.
Mr Palmer, the billionaire mining magnate, last month applied to trademark a raft of terms relating to "teal" and the "teal party", in an effort to prevent them being used for political or advertising use.
