Clive Palmer's election campaign spending spree will harm Labor more than the Coalition, according to an election marketing analyst.
Andrew Hughes from the Australian National University said even though the businessman insisted he had no preference for either major party, his projected campaign budget would make it more difficult for government opponents to cut through.
In an address to the National Press Club on Thursday, Mr Palmer said the United Australian Party (UAP) would spend a further $40 million on advertising during the campaign, taking the total spend to $70 million.
"It's very hard for Labor to get space," he told 7.30.
"How do you obtain space in the media market, the tv networks, the radio networks, the newspaper networks, and even the online networks, when you're competing against Clive Palmer?"
The UAP secured only 3.4 per cent of the national primary vote and failed to pick up a seat in 2019, despite setting a new election-spending record of more than $80 million.
Despite this, Mr Palmer —the party's founder and financial backer — said his political outfit succeeded in keeping Labor out of office, with a series of high-profile advertisements targeting then-opposition leader Bill Shorten.
Dr Hughes agreed the United Australia Party had a big influence on the last election result and predicted it would continue to be a significant force in 2022.
This is expected to be particularly the case on digital media, with UAP advertisements targeting groups resisting COVID-19 vaccinations.
"By the time they're up and running, they can influence people just in the hundreds," Dr Hughes said.
"And you think hundreds of people won't alter the outcome of an election — well, yes they will if it's amplified enough and done with enough groups out there and the content is targeted specifically at those people."
Kelly says UAP will not favour either major party
The party's only member of parliament, former Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly — an outspoken sceptic of COVID-19 vaccinations — said this time around, the UAP would not be favouring either major party.
"We've seen violations of the most fundamental freedoms; the freedom of speech, medical freedoms have all been trashed in this country."
Such arguments fail to impress former UAP candidate Simon Flitcroft, who contested the Brisbane seat of Bonner in 2019 and declined an invitation from the party to stand again.
"I think it's a very sly little ploy to gain votes," he told 7.30.
"It's too late. The mandates are place. He's barking up the wall."
Mr Flitcroft was disappointed when Mr Palmer declared after the 2019 election that his aim was to keep Labor out.
"If I thought I was going out there effectively representing the LNP, I wouldn't have wasted my time."
Anthony Whealy QC, from the Centre for Public Integrity, said Clive Palmer's "obscene" campaign spending highlighted the need for federal electoral law reform and caps on campaign spending and donations.
"He [Mr Palmer] is perfectly entitled to do what he likes with his own money, and what he's doing — let's be quite clear — is not illegal," he said.
"But no man or woman or person is entitled really to obstruct the democratic process and the proper electoral process, and we should have laws that fetter him from doing so."
Mr Kelly said the United Australia Party was just trying to compete with Labor and the Coalition.
"We need to actually spend that amount of money to at least give us the opportunity to have our case heard," he said.
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