![Belco Party convener Bill Stefaniak. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos Belco Party convener Bill Stefaniak. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc7c65x15x8ybd6eq8ouv.jpg/r0_0_5000_3333_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Two Canberra Liberal donors, including their largest private benefactor, have poured money into former leader Bill Stefaniak's new Belco Party ahead of October's ACT election.
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Mr Stefaniak said the donors were longtime friends, as he insisted it wasn't unusual for people to financially support different parties.
Donation disclosures also show a number of notable corporate backers have pitched in to boost Alistair Coe's election campaign, while Labor's union supporters have handed over almost $20,000 in the final weeks before the campaign period.
Mr Stefaniak's newly formed party, which is running on the motto "keep the bastards honest", last month received donations from three Liberal Party donors: personal injury lawyer Craig Edwards and Diane and Bruce Anderson.
Mr Edwards, along with wife Eva, have been the Liberals' largest private benefactors, making a total of $145,000 worth of donations in the past four years, including a $50,000 contribution at the end of last year, according to disclosures published on Elections ACT.
Records show Mr Edwards has now contributed to Stefaniak's Belco Party, chipping in $1000 on August 19. The Anderson's made two donations totalling $2000 on August 24.
Diane Anderson also donated $2000 to the Canberra Liberals on that day. Mr Edwards has not made a donation to the Liberals in this financial year, records show.
Mr Stefaniak told The Canberra Times that he had known Mr Edwards since he first moved to Canberra, and the pair had played rugby together. He had also been a longtime friend of the Anderson's.
The former opposition leader, who quit the Assembly in 2008, said it wasn't uncommon for people to financially support multiple parties, pointing out that once donated to the late Labor MLA Jayson Hinder.
"We thank them for their support," Mr Stefaniak said. "We are a small party so we can do with all the help we can get."
The Canberra Times contacted Mr Edwards but did not receive a response. The Andersons could not be reached for comment.
Liberal campaign director Josh Manuatu said he wasn't fussed that prominent party donors had chosen to support a longtime friend.
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The Canberra Liberals have in the past two months received a number of small donations from notable figures in the corporate, sporting, hospitality and political world - including two senior GWS Giants figures.
Giants chairman Anthony "Tony" Shepherd, a prominent Liberal supporter, made a $1500 donation on August 8. His deputy on the Giant's board and founder of early learning provider Oxanda Education, Adrian Fonseca, gave the same amount on the same day.
PricewaterhouseCoopers managing partner and Football Federation Australia board member Joseph Carrozzi donated $1400 on July 15.
On August 7, the Canberra Liberals also received a $3000 donation from Laundy Hotel, which is run by the family of Turnbull government minister Craig Laundy.
Mr Manuatu said the Liberals were heartened to receive the financial support on the eve of the campaign.
But he said the campaign was being backed mostly by "genuine grassroots" donations.
"To date, our average donations has been just $80 from many Canberrans who are passionate about seeing lower taxes and better services," Mr Manuatu said.
Labor's election year finances have been given a major boost from two powerful union supporters. The Community and Public Sector Union donated $10,420 on July 23, before the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association pumped in more than $9300 on August 20.
One of the ACT Greens' biggest private donors, lawyer John Little, has made another significant contribution to the party, pitching in $10,000 on August 18.
The Australian Climate Change Justice Party has received two donations totalling $5500 from the ACT Taxi Plate Owners Association in the past month.