Election 2022: UAP founder Clive Palmer hopeful of two seats but not his

With a net worth estimated at $8 billion, Clive Palmer could be forgiven for wanting to take some time out for himself and to focus on his business interests.

United Australia Party candidate for Leichhardt Daniel Hannagan, party founder Clive Palmer and candidate for Kennedy Peter Campion. Picture: Brendan Radke

With a net worth estimated at $8bn, Clive Palmer could be forgiven for wanting to take some time out for himself and to focus on his business interests.

Instead, the United Australia Party founder and Queensland Senate candidate, 67, will spend “$70m to $100m” in a bid to try to win a seat or two in the federal parliament. Why?

“Well, I’m alive, I’ve got to do something every day,” Mr ­Palmer told The Australian ahead of a campaign rally in Gladstone on Tuesday. “I want to do things that are interesting and enjoyable. From my perspective, the government has deserted a lot of people and both sides of politics are hopeless.”

Mr Palmer talked up his party’s chances of winning a Senate seat in Victoria and NSW, but he was less sure of his own chance of entering the upper house. He detailed how, mathematically, they could pull off a surprise or two in the lower house and hoped pandemic ­responses and net-zero pledges would drive voters to the UAP.

“I’ll be disappointed if the party vote doesn’t increase,” he said. “That’s how you should judge success.”

Mr Palmer spent his last day on the campaign trail in a whirlwind trip up the coast in his own permanently staffed Global ­Express jet to visit candidates and party members in two battleground electorates.

Membership ranks have swelled since June – from 2000 to 82,000, Mr Palmer said – ­driven by anger over vaccine mandates and discontentment with the major parties.

“I’m happy with the result ­already,” he said. “We’ve got 82,000 members fighting their first election, and the party ­organisation is established now. That, for me, is a big accomplishment.”

About 100 party members met Mr Palmer at rallies in Cairns and Gladstone on Tuesday morning. “There would be more but they have to work,” he said. “We’ve got about 800 members in Cairns.”

Mr Palmer’s trip to the electorate of Leichhardt came after visits by Scott Morrison on Monday and Bob Katter on Tuesday.

The UAP has targeted the One Nation vote this year, running advertisements claiming Pauline Hanson would work with Labor, the Liberals and the Greens.