Unvaxxed billionaire Clive Palmer promises most expensive election campaign ever

Unvaccinated mining billionaire Clive Palmer says the United Australia Party will run the most expensive political campaign in Australian history at the next federal election, exceeding the $80 million it mostly spent damaging Labor’s chances at government in 2019.

And despite denying for months he would again run for politics, the one-time member for Fairfax announced in Brisbane on Wednesday he would lead the UAP’s Queensland Senate ticket.

Clive Palmer announces United Australia Party candidates – including himself – for the federal election.Credit: Zach Hope

Significantly, Mr Palmer flagged High Court action against the Queensland government if his unvaccinated status meant he would be excluded from pubs, cafes and clubs and other popular campaign venues that require proof of double vaccination.

Entering a Hyatt Regency’s meeting room on Wednesday wearing a mask and flanked by two other UAP Senate candidates (one of whom he incorrectly introduced as Joe instead of Jack), the 67-year-old claimed he did not need to be vaccinated because he was healthier and lighter than during his previous foray into politics, from 2013 to 2016.

But the most troublesome hurdle to his second coming and personal freedoms might be an ongoing criminal case, set aside for a further mention in Brisbane on March 4.

Mr Palmer faces up to five years in jail after being charged with fraud and dishonest use of his position as a company director of Mineralogy to allegedly funnel money into the 2013 election campaign.

Credit: Matt Golding

He has previously described the charges as “simply made up” and is expected to continue fighting them.

Section 44 of the Constitution disqualifies candidates subject to a prison sentence of one or more years for any Commonwealth or state offence.

The UAP, led by Liberal defector Craig Kelly, is positioning itself as the party of “freedom, freedom, freedom” against pandemic mandates, the “political class”, and the political influence of big business.

Mr Palmer said the UAP would field candidates in every Senate contest and lower house seat in the nation to get Mr Kelly, who Mr Palmer conceded was now his boss, elected prime minister by Australians turning their backs on the major parties.

He dismissed the 2019 election, in which the UAP did not win a single seat and received only 3.4 per cent of first-preference votes.

“Our objective in the last election was to ensure Bill Shorten did not become prime minister,” he said when asked about the point of spending so much money on a seemingly doomed ambition.

“I don’t know if you realise it, but Bill Shorten didn’t become prime minister. We had polling before that election of about 10 per cent. I asked our people to support the Coalition, and there was still 3.5 per cent of the vote for us.

“We hope to win [this] election.”

Griffith University political expert Paul Williams said Mr Palmer was unlikely to win a Senate place. But given the curious preference machinations that have previously seen unlikely candidates such as Ricky Muir of the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party elected, it is possible.

As for the House of Representatives, Dr Williams said the UAP would not win a single seat, let alone enough for a government led by Prime Minister Craig Kelly.

“Not even Clive believes that,” Dr Williams said. “Maybe there’s one person in Australia who believes it, and that’s Craig Kelly.

“There is lichen on Mars that don’t believe that. I’ve got more chance of winning the Melbourne Cup on bare feet with a heavy backpack.”

Labor’s review of the 2019 election found, among other things, that Mr Palmer’s big-spending negative advertising campaign focusing on Mr Shorten damaged the party’s chances at government.

This time around, Mr Palmer said the UAP hopes to damage both major parties and the Greens with the “largest and most expensive political campaign in the nation’s history”.

“I don’t have a budget,” he said. “We just respond to the political circumstance. But you can rest assured we’ll leave no stone unturned to ensure our position – what we’re offering the Australian people – is clearly communicated.”

Asked about preferences, he said: “Unequivocally, Liberal, Labor and Greens will be at the bottom of the [lower house] ticket. I don’t know what order, it’s not my decision to make. That’s for the national executive.”

Mr Palmer said UAP polling showed more than 20 per cent support in areas of western Sydney and western Melbourne.

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