Ballarat Election 2024 - Councillor candidate donation insights.
- damonsaunders01
- 1 day ago
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Who received the most donations in the 2024 Ballarat council election?
By Nieve Walton
January 14 2025
Outside Ballarat Town Hall on Sturt Street, taken September 2024. Picture by Adam Trafford
Twenty-four different Ballarat residents and businesses put money behind councillors during the 2024 election.
Samantha McIntosh had the highest total for declared donations, with $18,000 spread between nine different people.
Council candidates must declare donations of more than $500, 40 days after the election.
In Ballarat, 11 out of 40 candidates had gifts to disclose while three candidates were not included on the list published on the council's website in December.
Of the 11 candidates who disclosed gifts, four went on to become councillors.
Cr McIntosh received donations ranging from $500 to $3,000 from Jill Oliver, Peter Stephens, Stephen Bryant, Peter Mackay, Greg Slade, Malcolm Roberts, Sandy Gray, Anna Canny and Marcus McMillian.
This figure is more than double what Cr McIntosh declared in 2020 when Michael Stubbs and Malcolm Roberts put money towards radio advertising, flyers and billboards.
Tess Morgan had the second-highest donation pool, receiving $7854 from James Morgan, Heather Winchcomb, Paul Brennan, Buille Guzzoni and Mark Karlovic.
When compared to the last council election, the 2024 campaign had fewer donations from political parties.
The Greens were the only political party to make official donations, each of their candidates in Ballarat, Adrik Wright, Belinda Coates, Ellen Burns and Maegan Boundey, received $2972.60
Ms Coates also received money from the Ballarat and district Greens, and former Greens candidate John Barnes donated to Ms Burns. Neither were successfully elected to council.
In 2024, the Labor Party did not officially support council candidates. But Federal Labor MP Catherine King did donate $500 to Jay Morrison.
Blake Family Grocers donated $1,753.95 to Des Hudson. In 2020, Maxi Foods gave him $4,577.
Councillors will be back in the chamber in February, completing actions from the current council plan and putting together their roadmap for the next four years of governing.
Read more about what they are expected to work on over the next six months here.
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