Prices for Australian Freedom Conferences plugged by Clive Palmer, Tucker Carlson

A “freedom” tour backed by mining magnate Clive Palmer and a controversial US commentator has cut ticket prices after appearing to struggle to get bums on seats.

Tickets to an Australia-wide “freedom conference” featuring controversial American commentator Tucker Carlson, organised by billionaire Clive Palmer, have been drastically slashed.

Mr Carlson, who was dropped from the American Fox News network in April last year, will headline the a series of talks known as the Australian Freedom Conferences in Cairns, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Melbourne from this weekend until July 1.

American commentator Tucker Carlson and Clive Palmer give a press conference ahead of the Australian Freedom Conference. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

Tickets to the conference events have been dramatically slashed, with the move appearing to indicate organisers were struggling to attract sales. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

The event, presented by Mr Palmer’s company Mineralogy, bills itself as “waking up Australia” by encouraging people to “join the fight to protect the future for themselves and their families”.

Tickets cost anywhere between $200 and $290 when the tour was first announced in April.

But those prices appear to have been quietly reduced – with tickets for the Sydney event now starting as low as $50.

The lowest price for the Brisbane event is now $80, and Cairns down to $98.

Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth’s cheapest tickets are all now $110.

Mr Palmer, the chair of the United Australia Party, appeared with Mr Carlson at his sprawling Fig Tree Pocket home spruiking the Brisbane event – due to be held in the same location.

In a statement earlier announcing the tour, Mr Carlson said he was looking forward to teaming up with Mr Palmer in what is billed as his first visit to Australia.

Mr Carlson headlined his Fox News show for years until being dropped from the network in April last year. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

“I’ve admired Australia all my life and watched carefully from across the world as its government became authoritarian during the Covid insanity,” he claimed.

“I could hardly believe it. I still can’t. I know many Australians feel the same way, and I’m excited to meet them.”

Mr Carlson abruptly left Fox News in 2023 when the broadcaster and its star host “agreed to part ways” following the network’s $787m defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.

The former host has now set up his own show, launched on X (formerly Twitter), where he has interviewed the likes of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.