Already and this is the Daily This is the Daily ohs oh, now it makes sense. Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Monday, the seventeenth of March.

Already and this is the Daily This is the Daily ohs oh, now it makes sense. Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Monday, the seventeenth of March.

I'm emma, i'm zara.

I'm emma, i'm zara.

You might have heard about it in the news, maybe you've been receiving text messages or you've seen the ads running during maps, but mining billionaire Clive Palmer recently announced he's launching a new Donald Trump inspired political party. Palmer says his Trumpet of Patriots Party will seek to quote make Australia great again. It comes after Palmer lost a High court bid to reregister his United Australia Party ahead of the next election. And today we're going to unpack everything you need to know about Clive Palmer's presence in the Australian political landscape, from what happened to United Australia, to the policy proposal of his new party, the role of minor parties in Federal Parliament and political advertising.

You might have heard about it in the news, maybe you've been receiving text messages or you've seen the ads running during maps, but mining billionaire Clive Palmer recently announced he's launching a new Donald Trump inspired political party. Palmer says his Trumpet of Patriots Party will seek to quote make Australia great again. It comes after Palmer lost a High court bid to reregister his United Australia Party ahead of the next election. And today we're going to unpack everything you need to know about Clive Palmer's presence in the Australian political landscape, from what happened to United Australia, to the policy proposal of his new party, the role of minor parties in Federal Parliament and political advertising.

And Clive Palmer, I think was in the news every single day last week for a different reason, whether it was an ad, he spoke to the National Press Club. All that to say, he is quite a mainstay of the Australian political scene these days, but there's a lot to it, and there's a lot to the man that is Clive Palmer. For anyone who's not familiar, what do we need to know about him?

And Clive Palmer, I think was in the news every single day last week for a different reason, whether it was an ad, he spoke to the National Press Club. All that to say, he is quite a mainstay of the Australian political scene these days, but there's a lot to it, and there's a lot to the man that is Clive Palmer. For anyone who's not familiar, what do we need to know about him?

So, Clive Palmer is a seventy year old billionaire who made his fortune in mining before he turned to politics in twenty thirteen as the leader of Palmer United, a party that became known as United Australia. But we'll get to that a little bit later. He founded his company in nineteen eighty four and it's mainly focused on iron ore exploration in Wa, but that is the company that made him his fortune, and according to Forbes, Palmer's estimated net worth is now three point four billion dollars and that puts him within the top twenty list of Australia's richest people.

So, Clive Palmer is a seventy year old billionaire who made his fortune in mining before he turned to politics in twenty thirteen as the leader of Palmer United, a party that became known as United Australia. But we'll get to that a little bit later. He founded his company in nineteen eighty four and it's mainly focused on iron ore exploration in Wa, but that is the company that made him his fortune, and according to Forbes, Palmer's estimated net worth is now three point four billion dollars and that puts him within the top twenty list of Australia's richest people.

And so for the large majority of his life, Clive Palmer has been known, as you said, for being this kind of mining mogul, this billionaire. But it was only then, more recently, as you said, that he moved into politics and in a very short time he's made quite a splash.

And so for the large majority of his life, Clive Palmer has been known, as you said, for being this kind of mining mogul, this billionaire. But it was only then, more recently, as you said, that he moved into politics and in a very short time he's made quite a splash.

Yes, so he was nearly sixty really when he started his political career and he launched the Palmi United Party or PUP in twenty thirteen. So Clive Palmer had previously been tied to the Liberal National Party, but he branched out on his own and ran in the seat of Fairfax in Queensland's Sunshine Coast in the twenty thirteen election. He from that election went on to secure a narrow victory to become an MP in the House of Reps, or the lower House. And when I say narrow, this was such a close race. It took months to determine a winner and he ended up beating the LNP candidate at the time, Ted O'Brien by around round fifty votes, So it was extremely close and at the time Palmer actually accused the Australian Electoral Commission of interference. He suggested that they were trying to rig the results to reduce the influence of his party. And ever since then he sort of stood out as this anti establishment figure in the political landscape.

Yes, so he was nearly sixty really when he started his political career and he launched the Palmi United Party or PUP in twenty thirteen. So Clive Palmer had previously been tied to the Liberal National Party, but he branched out on his own and ran in the seat of Fairfax in Queensland's Sunshine Coast in the twenty thirteen election. He from that election went on to secure a narrow victory to become an MP in the House of Reps, or the lower House. And when I say narrow, this was such a close race. It took months to determine a winner and he ended up beating the LNP candidate at the time, Ted O'Brien by around round fifty votes, So it was extremely close and at the time Palmer actually accused the Australian Electoral Commission of interference. He suggested that they were trying to rig the results to reduce the influence of his party. And ever since then he sort of stood out as this anti establishment figure in the political landscape.

And that's been a big part of I guess his platform has been saying that he's doing things I guess differently to the establishment. What other sort of policies did the party that he set up back in twenty thirteen. What sort of policies did they have.

And that's been a big part of I guess his platform has been saying that he's doing things I guess differently to the establishment. What other sort of policies did the party that he set up back in twenty thirteen. What sort of policies did they have.

Yes, so they did emerge as this kind of unconventional party, this anti traditional party, which I suppose has become a dominant theme in global politics over the last decade. But really, Palm United promised to hold politicians to accounts, so they were pushing for the need for political parties to cut ties with lobbyists. They called for electoral reform. Clive Palmer at the time was quite strong on things like, you know, voting shouldn't be done with pencils and you should have to show ID on election day, things like that, a range of other issues, but clearly issues that resonated with voters. Because at that twenty thirteen election there was quite unexpected support for the Party United Party, and it ended up securing three seats in the Senate. So we had Glenn Lazarus from Queensland, Jackie Lamby from Tasmania.

Yes, so they did emerge as this kind of unconventional party, this anti traditional party, which I suppose has become a dominant theme in global politics over the last decade. But really, Palm United promised to hold politicians to accounts, so they were pushing for the need for political parties to cut ties with lobbyists. They called for electoral reform. Clive Palmer at the time was quite strong on things like, you know, voting shouldn't be done with pencils and you should have to show ID on election day, things like that, a range of other issues, but clearly issues that resonated with voters. Because at that twenty thirteen election there was quite unexpected support for the Party United Party, and it ended up securing three seats in the Senate. So we had Glenn Lazarus from Queensland, Jackie Lamby from Tasmania.

I think a lot of people forget that that's how Jackie Lamby started off. Yes, I think so too.

I think a lot of people forget that that's how Jackie Lamby started off. Yes, I think so too.

And then there was another senator in Western Australia elected for Party United Party, and so that gave the party, you know, a pretty significant presence in Parliament.

And then there was another senator in Western Australia elected for Party United Party, and so that gave the party, you know, a pretty significant presence in Parliament.

I think that what you're saying goes to one of the more interesting elements of our political system, which is this power that minor parties, especially and independents can have in the Senate. The fact that this very at the time, very new party had three senators elected at the twenty thirteen election. That is quite a unique characteristic of our senator.

I think that what you're saying goes to one of the more interesting elements of our political system, which is this power that minor parties, especially and independents can have in the Senate. The fact that this very at the time, very new party had three senators elected at the twenty thirteen election. That is quite a unique characteristic of our senator.

Right, Yes, exactly, and a quick refresher. Senators are elected for six year terms, so only half are up for re election each term. But your right Zara anti establishment kind of sentiment might not be as disruptive in the lower House if you have one MP. But we have seen shifts from minor parties like Palmi United or United Australia like Pauline Hanson's One Nation in the Senate over recent elections, and it all has to do with some very complicated electoral system details and some relatively recent changes to how preferences work. We won't get into all of it today, but the core of what you need to know is that minor parties and independents are more common in the Senate because the voting system makes it easier to get elected with a smaller number of votes, and we have seen an uptick in support for minor parties in the Senate over recent years, and that culminated in record support for minor parties at the twenty twenty two election, the last federal election. So for the first time then minor parties and independents received more votes combined than both major parties. And I think that tells us a lot about voting trends more broadly, and a lot about how the Senate looks today.

Right, Yes, exactly, and a quick refresher. Senators are elected for six year terms, so only half are up for re election each term. But your right Zara anti establishment kind of sentiment might not be as disruptive in the lower House if you have one MP. But we have seen shifts from minor parties like Palmi United or United Australia like Pauline Hanson's One Nation in the Senate over recent elections, and it all has to do with some very complicated electoral system details and some relatively recent changes to how preferences work. We won't get into all of it today, but the core of what you need to know is that minor parties and independents are more common in the Senate because the voting system makes it easier to get elected with a smaller number of votes, and we have seen an uptick in support for minor parties in the Senate over recent years, and that culminated in record support for minor parties at the twenty twenty two election, the last federal election. So for the first time then minor parties and independents received more votes combined than both major parties. And I think that tells us a lot about voting trends more broadly, and a lot about how the Senate looks today.

And you're talking there of the twenty twenty two election, and I do want to bring this back to Clive Palmer and then to the twenty twenty two election, because anyone with a mobile phone heard from Clive Palmer at the twenty twenty two election, lots of unsolicited text messages. How did his party perform?

And you're talking there of the twenty twenty two election, and I do want to bring this back to Clive Palmer and then to the twenty twenty two election, because anyone with a mobile phone heard from Clive Palmer at the twenty twenty two election, lots of unsolicited text messages. How did his party perform?

Then? Well, a lot changed between his party first emerging in the twenty thirteen federal election. You know, obviously there was a name change to United Australia. Jackie Lamby, who we spoke about before, left to form her own party, and by twenty twenty two, support had shifted. In that election, three point five percent of voters put UAP first in the Senate and four percent put UAP candidates first in the lower House, but it ultimately only secured one seat, and that was in the Senate with Ralph Babbitt, a Victorian Senator. Craig Kelly, who was the former Liberal MP and a UAP party leader, lost his seat, and Clive Palmer, who ran for a Senate seat in Queensland also lost. Now that was after the party had kind of become more known for its stance against vaccinations. It's more controversial COVID nineteen policies, and that obviously didn't pay off, or it didn't yield kind of positive results.

Then? Well, a lot changed between his party first emerging in the twenty thirteen federal election. You know, obviously there was a name change to United Australia. Jackie Lamby, who we spoke about before, left to form her own party, and by twenty twenty two, support had shifted. In that election, three point five percent of voters put UAP first in the Senate and four percent put UAP candidates first in the lower House, but it ultimately only secured one seat, and that was in the Senate with Ralph Babbitt, a Victorian Senator. Craig Kelly, who was the former Liberal MP and a UAP party leader, lost his seat, and Clive Palmer, who ran for a Senate seat in Queensland also lost. Now that was after the party had kind of become more known for its stance against vaccinations. It's more controversial COVID nineteen policies, and that obviously didn't pay off, or it didn't yield kind of positive results.

When you say payoff, that's a really interesting thing because what was spoken about so much was how much money was spent by UAP to secure that single seat.

When you say payoff, that's a really interesting thing because what was spoken about so much was how much money was spent by UAP to secure that single seat.

Yes, and it's interesting to talk about or think about the contrast of the new approach or if it's the old approach that we're seeing with the new Clive Palmer party, which we will get to in a sec but before then, we need to talk about registration and the United Australia Party because later in twenty twenty two after that election, the Electoral Commission published a notice that the UAP was de registered. On the eighth of September twenty twenty two. Now that sole UAP Senator Ralph Babbitt was questioned by A nine journalist at the time, and he said that deregistration was a cost cutting exercise to save on administration expenses between elections. And he said the party wasn't going anywhere. It's staying right where it is. The UAP is here forever, he said. Clive Palmer then also confirmed that the move to d register it was about administration, it was about costs, and he indicated that the UAP would reregister for the twenty twenty five election and did they a shock turn of events, they did not reregister, and that's actually because they weren't allowed to. The AAC has rules in place basically saying that if you voluntarily de register, you have to wait for another election to pass before you can ref So the United Australia Party was banned from registering in twenty twenty five. That doesn't mean that UAP couldn't run in twenty twenty five, but not being registered would mean changes on the ballot papers, so the party's logo couldn't be shown on ballot papers. It impacts the kind of election funding that parties are entitled to so ultimately United Australia decided that it could still run, but it wouldn't. Clive Palmer lost a bid in the High Court to reregister ahead of the next election, and ultimately he decided to launch a whole new political party under a new name going into twenty twenty five. And that brings us to the Trumpet of Patriots Party.

Yes, and it's interesting to talk about or think about the contrast of the new approach or if it's the old approach that we're seeing with the new Clive Palmer party, which we will get to in a sec but before then, we need to talk about registration and the United Australia Party because later in twenty twenty two after that election, the Electoral Commission published a notice that the UAP was de registered. On the eighth of September twenty twenty two. Now that sole UAP Senator Ralph Babbitt was questioned by A nine journalist at the time, and he said that deregistration was a cost cutting exercise to save on administration expenses between elections. And he said the party wasn't going anywhere. It's staying right where it is. The UAP is here forever, he said. Clive Palmer then also confirmed that the move to d register it was about administration, it was about costs, and he indicated that the UAP would reregister for the twenty twenty five election and did they a shock turn of events, they did not reregister, and that's actually because they weren't allowed to. The AAC has rules in place basically saying that if you voluntarily de register, you have to wait for another election to pass before you can ref So the United Australia Party was banned from registering in twenty twenty five. That doesn't mean that UAP couldn't run in twenty twenty five, but not being registered would mean changes on the ballot papers, so the party's logo couldn't be shown on ballot papers. It impacts the kind of election funding that parties are entitled to so ultimately United Australia decided that it could still run, but it wouldn't. Clive Palmer lost a bid in the High Court to reregister ahead of the next election, and ultimately he decided to launch a whole new political party under a new name going into twenty twenty five. And that brings us to the Trumpet of Patriots Party.

I saw Clive Palmer in a press conference the other day have a slip of the tongue and say just Trump's Party and then have to correct himself and had a little bit of a chuckle. But there are some glaring similarities between the Trumpet of Patriots Party and the current US president. What do we know about Clive Palmer's party?

I saw Clive Palmer in a press conference the other day have a slip of the tongue and say just Trump's Party and then have to correct himself and had a little bit of a chuckle. But there are some glaring similarities between the Trumpet of Patriots Party and the current US president. What do we know about Clive Palmer's party?

Yeap, a bit of a Freudian slip, But Clive Palmer has been very explicit in linking the party to Trump style policies. He said the party believes in the policies of Donald Trump, which quote he said, are shown to be effective in bringing management back on track. He's vowing to make Australia great again. And he actually gave an address at the National Press Club on Thursday last week. Here's a little bit of what he said there.

Yeap, a bit of a Freudian slip, But Clive Palmer has been very explicit in linking the party to Trump style policies. He said the party believes in the policies of Donald Trump, which quote he said, are shown to be effective in bringing management back on track. He's vowing to make Australia great again. And he actually gave an address at the National Press Club on Thursday last week. Here's a little bit of what he said there.

Australias want to send a bold leadership to reinvigorate our nation. The Trumpet of Patriots is ready to deliver exactly that, plus specific policies that will secure our future and put our country first. We don't want women in sports men and women's sports, especially boxing. All children should be entitled to a normal, safe environment in our schools and public toilets. All children must be en told to decide who they are and what was their sexual orientation is when they're adults, after they've gone through puberty.

Australias want to send a bold leadership to reinvigorate our nation. The Trumpet of Patriots is ready to deliver exactly that, plus specific policies that will secure our future and put our country first. We don't want women in sports men and women's sports, especially boxing. All children should be entitled to a normal, safe environment in our schools and public toilets. All children must be en told to decide who they are and what was their sexual orientation is when they're adults, after they've gone through puberty.

And we were talking about earlier how much money Clive Palmer and the UAP spent at the last election and that that led to a single seat being won by Ralph Babbitt. Are we seeing this similar like huge spend this time around from the Trumpet of Patriots party.

And we were talking about earlier how much money Clive Palmer and the UAP spent at the last election and that that led to a single seat being won by Ralph Babbitt. Are we seeing this similar like huge spend this time around from the Trumpet of Patriots party.

Yeah, everything that we have seen so far suggests that yes, he is taking a similar approach with this party. So in twenty twenty two, Palmer spent one hundred million dollars on UAP advertising, which was considerably more than the major parties. And this time around there's already been significant investment. We've seen, you know, marketing across TV ads, newspaper front pages, outdoor billboards, a really significant push. A lot's been said on social media about the saturation of that marketing, and interestingly, electoral reforms actually mean that this is the last time we're going to see a campaign run in this way. There's going to be limits on advertising spending, so those caps will be rolled out for the next federal election. And Clive Palmer kind of does appear to be going all out to platform his party's conservative stance while he can spend that money, So that stance involves a lot of advertising about its policies on gender, immigration, First Nations recognition through all this marketing.

Yeah, everything that we have seen so far suggests that yes, he is taking a similar approach with this party. So in twenty twenty two, Palmer spent one hundred million dollars on UAP advertising, which was considerably more than the major parties. And this time around there's already been significant investment. We've seen, you know, marketing across TV ads, newspaper front pages, outdoor billboards, a really significant push. A lot's been said on social media about the saturation of that marketing, and interestingly, electoral reforms actually mean that this is the last time we're going to see a campaign run in this way. There's going to be limits on advertising spending, so those caps will be rolled out for the next federal election. And Clive Palmer kind of does appear to be going all out to platform his party's conservative stance while he can spend that money, So that stance involves a lot of advertising about its policies on gender, immigration, First Nations recognition through all this marketing.

Yeah, and I saw last week that some regional newspapers issued apologies after they ran certain ads by Clive Palmer's party.

Yeah, and I saw last week that some regional newspapers issued apologies after they ran certain ads by Clive Palmer's party.

Yeah, just this week, we've had nine newspapers kind of coming out and defending or explaining their decision to run that advertising. I think it costs about twenty thousand dollars for those front page ads. But the Age, I believe, had a front page slash with a Palmer trumpet for Patriots ad, but then it also had an editorial that was very scathing on the policies of the party.

Yeah, just this week, we've had nine newspapers kind of coming out and defending or explaining their decision to run that advertising. I think it costs about twenty thousand dollars for those front page ads. But the Age, I believe, had a front page slash with a Palmer trumpet for Patriots ad, but then it also had an editorial that was very scathing on the policies of the party.

I believe the.

I believe the.

Term wart was used in the language to describe some of the policies ye modern media.

Term wart was used in the language to describe some of the policies ye modern media.

Super interesting. I am curious though, and we have spent a whole podcast talking about the impact of someone like Clive Palmer on our political system and it can't be underestimated, just at least the kind of sheer volume of the advertising and the messaging. But I am really keen to just drill down into the actual politics of it. Is Clive Palmer expected to actually have a return on his investment and to have anyone win a seat at this election?

Super interesting. I am curious though, and we have spent a whole podcast talking about the impact of someone like Clive Palmer on our political system and it can't be underestimated, just at least the kind of sheer volume of the advertising and the messaging. But I am really keen to just drill down into the actual politics of it. Is Clive Palmer expected to actually have a return on his investment and to have anyone win a seat at this election?

Well that is the one hundred million dollar question, isn't it. According to the latest you of polling data, around one percent of Australian's indicated support for the party. Now, when we look at Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party, I think that that's probably the closest minor party that we have to compare it to on policy that has seven point five percent support, so different significantly ahead and nine percent support for independence. So this Palmer Party is positioning itself as a key player in the future government despite those lower numbers. And I think this is an interesting argument that it's putting forward because there is a lot of conversation about a hung parliament being more likely this time around. So The Trumpet of Patriots published the results of its own polling late in February. It asked voters if they'd vote for a party with Trump like policies, so not explicitly asking voters if they'd vote for it, but Trump like policies, and around thirty percent said yes. So it said the results show that if a federal election were held today, both the Coalition and Labor would quote need the support of a party like the Trumpet of Patriots to govern.

Well that is the one hundred million dollar question, isn't it. According to the latest you of polling data, around one percent of Australian's indicated support for the party. Now, when we look at Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party, I think that that's probably the closest minor party that we have to compare it to on policy that has seven point five percent support, so different significantly ahead and nine percent support for independence. So this Palmer Party is positioning itself as a key player in the future government despite those lower numbers. And I think this is an interesting argument that it's putting forward because there is a lot of conversation about a hung parliament being more likely this time around. So The Trumpet of Patriots published the results of its own polling late in February. It asked voters if they'd vote for a party with Trump like policies, so not explicitly asking voters if they'd vote for it, but Trump like policies, and around thirty percent said yes. So it said the results show that if a federal election were held today, both the Coalition and Labor would quote need the support of a party like the Trumpet of Patriots to govern.

Obviously, just needs to be highlighted again that that is the party's internal polling. That's not independent research. We won't know until the day of the election whenever that might be what the results of this big marketing spend and push might be be. I do just want to end on a note though, of do you think that this kind of massive spend on marketing could have a reverse effect of actually overwhelming or perhaps even having a negative impact on voters. Yeah.

Obviously, just needs to be highlighted again that that is the party's internal polling. That's not independent research. We won't know until the day of the election whenever that might be what the results of this big marketing spend and push might be be. I do just want to end on a note though, of do you think that this kind of massive spend on marketing could have a reverse effect of actually overwhelming or perhaps even having a negative impact on voters. Yeah.

I think it's really interesting to consider this idea of voter fatigue or an over emphasizing of a message and people kind of turning away as a result. You know, we've discussed how Palmer spent one hundred million dollars last election but had only victory in one seat. Equality Australia actually commissioned a recent poll through Redbridge, who conduct polling, and that data found that voters are focused on cost of living, relief, housing and health as priority areas heading into the election, not what it called the quote divisive policy focus areas of the trumpet of Patriots Party. Eighty six percent of respondents said they don't want trans issues to be used for political gain during this election campaign. An Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown said, most aliens outrage to see a billionaire splash a truly obscene amount of money, pedaling hate and sewing division when they can't afford to pay their bill or buy groceries. So some very strong words. Obviously, Equality Australia has commissioned that research and those findings, but you know, I think it does speak to that concern about whether or not this is the kind of messaging people want to be hearing.

I think it's really interesting to consider this idea of voter fatigue or an over emphasizing of a message and people kind of turning away as a result. You know, we've discussed how Palmer spent one hundred million dollars last election but had only victory in one seat. Equality Australia actually commissioned a recent poll through Redbridge, who conduct polling, and that data found that voters are focused on cost of living, relief, housing and health as priority areas heading into the election, not what it called the quote divisive policy focus areas of the trumpet of Patriots Party. Eighty six percent of respondents said they don't want trans issues to be used for political gain during this election campaign. An Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown said, most aliens outrage to see a billionaire splash a truly obscene amount of money, pedaling hate and sewing division when they can't afford to pay their bill or buy groceries. So some very strong words. Obviously, Equality Australia has commissioned that research and those findings, but you know, I think it does speak to that concern about whether or not this is the kind of messaging people want to be hearing.

Yeah, I mean, Clive Palmer has said himself that he's modeling this off the US. There are very clear similarities. We know what's happened there. I guess we have to wait and see so whether the same thing could unfold here and whether the same messaging does land in a different market exactly.

Yeah, I mean, Clive Palmer has said himself that he's modeling this off the US. There are very clear similarities. We know what's happened there. I guess we have to wait and see so whether the same thing could unfold here and whether the same messaging does land in a different market exactly.

And it'll also be fascinating to see, you know, how advertising spending caps impact future elections.

And it'll also be fascinating to see, you know, how advertising spending caps impact future elections.

Yeah, we're going to have to lock in and wait to see what happens with all of this and more as the election nears. Em thank you so much for explaining all of that. Thank you, and thanks for joining us for another episode of the Daily os. We're going to be back in your ears this afternoon with the Daily Headlines. But until then, Happy Monday. My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda Bungelung Calcotin woman from Gadighl Country. The Daily oz acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and torrest Rate island and nations.

Yeah, we're going to have to lock in and wait to see what happens with all of this and more as the election nears. Em thank you so much for explaining all of that. Thank you, and thanks for joining us for another episode of the Daily os. We're going to be back in your ears this afternoon with the Daily Headlines. But until then, Happy Monday. My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda Bungelung Calcotin woman from Gadighl Country. The Daily oz acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and torrest Rate island and nations.

We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.

We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.