Clive digs deep to help Palmer United Party

The biggest donor to Clive Palmer’s political party in his home state is Clive Palmer and his companies.

Australian federal MP and former chairman of Mineralogy Clive Palmer.

The biggest donors to Clive Palmer’s political party in his home state are Clive Palmer and his companies.

Documents lodged with Queensland’s electoral commission reveal that Mr Palmer and his companies poured nearly $10 million into the Palmer United Party in Queensland in one year — a hefty investment given no PUP candidate was elected at the boilover state poll in January.

When the financial year ended on June 30, the PUP had outstanding debts of $43,915: owing $26,675 to public relator Andrew Crook’s company Crook Media (though it paid the company $842,354 in 12 months), $16,877 in annual leave entitlements to party staff, and $360 to an office supplies company.

The tycoon’s wholly owned flagship company Mineralogy gave the PUP a $3,628,345 gift, while his Queensland Nickel company was more generous, handing over $5,947,720 in a gift to the PUP last ­financial year.

Mr Palmer ($2000), Palmer Coolum Resort ($191,113) and Palmer Leisure ($7775) all gave gifts in kind to the Queensland branch of the political party. In ­return, the party paid Mr Palmer, the PUP’s federal leader and federal MP for the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax, $157,333.

The PUP has no Queensland MPs, after the defection and then electoral defeat of Carl Judge and Alex Douglas. In the federal arena, the party is represented by Mr Palmer in the lower house and Dio Wang in the Senate, following the defection of senators Jacqui Lambie and Glenn Lazarus.

The audited disclosure documents also record a payment of $300,187 to the PUP in Queensland from the “High Court of Australia” and a $21,550 payment from the party to the court.

However, a High Court spokesman said there had been no such payments. A source close to the PUP said the money was a ­refund of the party’s costs for its West Australian Senate campaign in 2013, which was rerun in April last year when Senator Wang was elected.

It’s not clear why the payment is recorded as coming from the High Court, why it is in the party’s Queensland accounts, or why it is recorded in the period from July last year to June 30 this year.

The Palmer United Party also paid up big to top Queensland silks Keith Wilson QC ($19,965) and Thomas Bradley QC ($6600) and NSW barrister Thomas Prince ($3630).

Media, advertising and printing costs were also high, with the PUP shelling out to advertising company Media Circus Network ($4.78m), the National Press Club of Australia (nearly $58,000), video producers Atomic Pixel ($1.15 million) and CPC Prod­uction Services ($40,300), screenprinters Colorcorp ($71,675) and digital production team IPG Connect ($182,786).

Labor’s Queensland branch, the Liberal National Party of Queensland and Labor Holdings Pty Ltd have been given an extension until September 25 to lodge their disclosure returns.