He doesnt recall the actual moment that the current snaked up his arm and flung him across the room. Credit:Louise Kennerley, What turned disaffection into active resistance was Abbotts 2017 vote against marriage equality, despite Warringah having one of the countrys highest votes in favour, at 75 per cent. Holmes Court was a driving force behind the country's first community-owned wind farm, Hepburn Wind. The competition is just too strong. And with Hepburn shire adding its name to a growing list of councils shooting to reduce their emissions to zero, every bit counts. Even a previous Liberal leader [John Hewson].". I got involved accidently with the Kids off Nauru movement. VAO is really critical for taking the wind out of peoples sails and stopping them marking him as a second, third or fourth preference. But this time around, Holmes Courts ambition, like the number of independent activist groups, has hugely increased. [18], Holmes Court married Katrina von Mller, sister of the Australian film director Karl von Mller, in 1997 at Hydra, Greece. Holmes Court addressing the National Press Club earlier this year. More recently, his work with one of NSWs biggest solar installers brought Angus Taylor to his attention in the sprawling neighbouring electorate of Hume. Voices Of, Voices For and non-aligned groups. Louis Trerise, He also says the movement would not have existed without the pandemic, lockdowns, and Zoom. It was a simple reform, it didnt come from Labor, it came from the cross-bench, and it was put to me that the cross-bench is often the conscience of parliament and too often the backbone. Simon Holmes Court (born 30 May 1972) is an Australian entrepreneur, cleantech investor, climate philanthropist and convenor of Climate 200. . Since then, businesswoman Susan Benedyka and constitutional lawyer Kim Rubenstein have announced campaigns for senate seats in Victoria and the ACT respectively, and the former deputy mayor of Greater Shepparton Rob Priestly has announced hell run against Nationals MP Damian Drum for the Victorian seat of Nicholls. He seems to relish in the political barbs too, calling Jane Hume out for bitchiness and Sarah Henderson a #crumbmaiden, perhaps explaining why some rivals call him a piece of work. Climate change. And then Ive watched our government stall for three years and not get anything really truly significant for future generations done. Which is what she sees as energising the network of independents, of which she is now the exemplar. Water is huge, but it felt niche compared to the problem Im working on now. His father, Robert Holmes Court, who died at 53 in 1990 from a heart attack, became Australias first billionaire as a corporate raider across mining, media, real estate, and famously tried to buy BHP. It was at the intersection of technology, climate action, community, and politics. Simon Holmes Court Convenor at Climate 200. And after spending years developing a model that worked, and navigating the various logistical potholes in getting it up and running, he set up Embark, a non-profit company dedicated to helping other community energy projects adopt the Hepburn model. Twitter played an important role in Holmes Courts political awakening too. I originally went to see him as a constituent, because I decided he would be around for a long time. Hepburn actually used to own its own power generating sources. Energy transition specialist and clean energy investor. Simon was a driving force behind Australias first community-owned wind farm, Hepburn Wind, near Daylesford in Central Victoria. He was up there with his R.M. When he launched the Climate200 fund he did so on Twitter and raised $1.4 million in two weeks. It is a very, very important pivot pointhaving seen us go through the cultural energy wars, and seen three prime ministers change because of that pressureits a pretty significant step., First-term Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, whos been the governments point man on the Voices Of, Voices For and non-aligned groups, including asking the Australian Electoral Commission to ensure they comply with funding-disclosure requirements reinforces this point. That ended after Holmes Court wrote a column for The Guardian in early 2018, which included a line criticising Frydenberg for trying to keep NSWs Liddell power station open. [3] Holmes Court stated "I got involved in Australia's first community-owned, wind farm in Hepburn. VTO founder, businessman and Global Surf Industries owner Mark Kelly, 57, had been a classic swinging voter, backing the Liberals at state level but unable to support Abbott, he says. Simon Holmes Court (born 30 May 1972) is an Australian businessman and political activist. The son of Australias first billionaire has become the face of a burgeoning independents movement some say heralds a tectonic shift in our political landscape. How? I just remember the environmental devastation, puddles of algae and no regrowth, and the feeling of being cheated; that we were being lied to.. Three days later, she rang to discuss running. Simon Holmes Court (born 30 May 1972) is an Australian businessman and political activist. The cross-bench was responsible for fixed four-year terms in Victoria and the recent religious discrimination act when the members crossed the floor that was Rebekha Sharkies bill.. We dont start campaigns, we dont choose candidates, campaigns come to us and if the campaign matches our mandate, the seat is winnable and the fundamentals check out we will donate to them.. The turbines, cheesily called Gusto and Gale, constitute the very first community-owned windfarm in Australia. We pay our deepest respects to elders past, present, and emerging. My theory was that Australians didnt engage until election season started, so we would raise maybe a million this year, a million before the election was called, and then another million in the first two weeks of the campaign. Instead, C200 has raised $3.3 million in two months from almost 4200 donors, even before any billionaires tip in, as he says, though businessman Nick Fairfax recently signed on to match donations up to $100,000, after a similar pledge by tech entrepreneur Simon Hackett and his wife Anna was exhausted in three days. He is an energy analyst, clean technology investor, climate philanthropist, director of the Smart Energy Council and the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network, senior advisor to the Climate and Energy College at Melbourne University, and writes regularly about the transformation of Australias energy sector. Please provide further information to join the APP Society: This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Its what the third of four children to Australias first billionaire, Robert Holmes Court, and his former science teacher wife, Janet, had always done. Weve been gas-lit by the government. People are organising, getting together and having dozens of meetings in a month that could never have happened without a party structure.. Im not just a follower any more. Simon Holmes Court's personal battle with Josh Frydenberg The son of Australia's first billionaire, the man who might help decide the next federal election, says having independents control. In the first of a series about Australian communities building renewable energy projects, we look at how Victorias Hepburn Shire overcame local opposition to deliver a new homegrown, community-owned generator. He was a swinging voter. I remember thinking, If we could get 500 people to sign up, that would be great, but weve now hit 1500, which is pretty considerable, he says. I ask him about billionaires like Elon Musk and Mike Cannon Brookes purporting to change the world via Twitter. As you can imagine, I had a fairly bizarreupbringing, with politicians of the day around the dinner table, he says. Their focus? Meanwhile, a fortnight ago, The Australia Institute released its annual Climate of the Nation survey of 2626 voters, which found that a record 75 per cent were concerned about climate change, with almost 70 per cent looking to the government for a path to net zero. Purpose Conference 2022Site by PearlerArt by WBYK. In March this year, he and another member launched the sharper Vote Angus Out (VAO) group, following the advice of Steggalls team that Vote Tony Outs T-shirt-led social media had been a major driver in Warringah. World Vision, Save the Children Fund, GetUp, all worked really hard on getting kids off Nauru, he says. Yes, Angus grew up on a farm and has farming investments but anyway. Kooyong 200 and feud with Josh Frydenberg, "Economic, Education, Jobs and Skills Committee: Inquiry into community energy projects", "Simon Holmes Court's personal battle with Josh Frydenberg", "Simon Holmes Court: 'If it works, the payoff will be enormous', "Clean, green and rich: Wealthy donors bankrolling politicians who support climate action", "Media Watch Dog: Simon Holmes Court's Q+A takeover", "Holmes a Court sues media outlets, mulls defamation suit against Sharma over Nazi reference", "Meaning of 'crumb maiden' smear used against Liberal Senator explored", "Climate 200 founder is 'Palmer of left': Mundine", "Climate 200 founder could benefit from investments if independents are elected", "Holmes Court attempting 'takeover': Falinski", "Election 2022: Simon Holmes a Court 'bullied me online', says UK activist", "Birmingham calls on Holmes a Court to apologise for confrontation", "Democracy? Which is why Im happy to do it., Even hes been surprised by the response since late August. Alex Ellinghausen, It won the World Wind Energy Award in 2012 and got me hooked on the space. Also pictured, clockwise from centre: Rebekha Sharkie, Helen Haines and Greens leader Adam Bandt.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen. As with most investors in community-owned renewable energy, his motivations were a mix of hard-nosed financial ones, and the desire to do a bit of good. Its really only the parties, the government and the Prime Minister that can commit Australia to the important things like climate obligations.. This is a win-win for both the environment [and] the community.. . I thought wed have about 50 people, because Id had about 50 phone calls from all over Australia and it was a short time-frame, she says. Kristoffer Paulsen. Holmes Court on his farm in Daylesford. Their target? About Simon. He has also been accused of running a party of white privilege for rejecting more diverse candidates such as Kyinzom Dhongdue, a refugee and former MP in the Dalai Lamas Tibetan parliament in exile. Owned by more than 2000 people. This time around Holmes Court has gone much earlier, looking to support the climate-and-integrity-focused campaigns that have sprung up around the country in recent years, inspired by McGowan and Hainess success in Indi and Zali Steggalls 2019 unseating of former prime minister Tony Abbott in the northern Sydney seat of Warringah. Throughout, Holmes Court has kept largely to himself, certainly compared to his headline-grabbing elder brother Peter, the former theatre impresario and South Sydney Rabbitohs co-owner. As far as the seats were supporting, Sophie Scamps in Mackellar, Kylea Tink in North Sydney, Allegra Spender in Wentworth, Monique Ryan in Kooyong, Zoe Daniel in Goldstein and Kate Chaney in Perth are all doing exceptionally well. And as the family goes about lockdown, Holmes Court wide-eyed and fresh-faced, more like a grey-haired schoolkid than a 49-year-old tech entrepreneur explains how, and why, he has fashioned a whole new key to stick into the biggest power socket in Australia, federal politics. As interesting as the electoral prospects of the various groups is the movement itself: organic and unruly by definition, but increasingly networked and turbocharged by the likes of McGowans Community Independents Project (CIP), which aids nascent groups, and Holmes Courts C200. My daughter said, Wow, thats a lot of money, are you sure this will work? he says, out walking the dog in the dark after a virtual, mid-October celebration of surpassing 2000 donors. Isamu Sawa. - FXB1285471 Simon Holmes Court photographed for Good Weekend around his his 40-hectare farm in Daylesford, Victoria, October 2021. Disgruntled small-l liberals. One of the things that made him confident that the project was a good investment, he says, was the level of community support it received, and the passion of the people running it. He is an energy analyst, clean tech investor, climate philanthropist, and director of the Smart Energy Council and the . He insists, as he did at the National Press Club earlier this year, there are three criteria to fund their candidates: action on climate, integrity, and gender diversity. Holmes Court was criticised in April 2019 for calling Senator Jane Hume out for "bitchiness",[4] and in February 2022 for calling Sarah Henderson a "#Crumbmaiden". Such tales have become part of the storyline of the independents groups as they need to be, given it is disenchanted small-l liberals they are looking to attract. simon holmes a court daylesforddaily news subscription phone number. Simon Holmes Court: If it works, the payoff will be enormous, PMs mid-October negotiations with the Nationals. A small project, only two turbines but it generates as much power as the town uses in a year. Clearly, getting onto the crossbench was the easiest way for me to get a seat at the table, which is Parliament.. Thats what gets me out of bed in the morning., Izakaya Jiro, 830 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn Vic. Photo by Kristoffer Paulsen, signed contributor The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Photos - Simon Holmes Court on his 40-hecatre farm in Daylesford, Victoria, 2021 However much they end up mattering at the next election or not they are the latest manifestation of a longer-term trend that may redraw the political landscape: the rising minority vote. It kept the lake area electrified, says Lane. Matt Murfitt, 39, was another swinging voter politicised by climate change.