Voices of Goldstein announced its formation earlier this year off the back of the growing socially progressive grassroots movement,which supported former crossbench MPs such as Cathy McGowan and Kerryn Phelps and current independent Zali Stegall.
Mr Rothfield and his brother Jonathan were co-directors of their late father’s trust,the Norman Rothfield Peace and Justice Fund,which was wound up last year. The Australian Electoral Commission’s transparency disclosures show the fund donated $30,000 to NSW Labor Party in 2019,$215,800 to the Greens since 2014 and $260,000 to GetUp since 2019.
It also donated $22,000 to Julia Banks for her campaign to unseat Greg Hunt in Flinders at the last federal election.
Loading
Several other well-known Australian environmental organisations also received support from the fund over the past decade,including Greenpeace,the Australian Conservation Foundation,The Australia Institute and the Climate Council.
The federal Liberals have become increasingly sensitive to the threat of moderate independent candidates,especially in progressive and wealthy inner-city seats,since it lost two blue-ribbon seats of former prime ministers – Malcolm Turnbull’s Wentworth and Tony Abbott’s Warringah – in the past three years.
The Coalition faces more than 40 contests in lower house seats from Voices of and Voice for groups,many of which are vying to access a campaign war chest being raised by Simon Holmes à Court,the convenor of Climate 200,who has also amassed $2 million to help independents. They are not contesting Labor seats.