Earlier this year, Clive Palmer was funnelling millions of dollars into the United Australia Party (UAP) 2022 federal election advertising blitz.
The ubiquitous campaign — which covered every newspaper, television ad break and social media feed in the party’s distinctive yellow — ended in a disappointing result. The party elected a single person from their 276 candidates: Victorian Senator Ralph Babet.
Just two months after the federal election, the party put out a media release calling for candidates for the Victorian state election: “Play your part working for a better deal for the Victoria [sic] by ending Daniel Andrews’ grip on the state,” it said.
But with days to go until election day, Palmer and the party have yet to roll out an expensive advertising campaign to match their federal efforts. In fact, they’ve yet to roll out an advertising campaign at all.
According to Meta (formerly Facebook) and Google political advertising portals, neither Palmer nor UAP have spent a cent on advertising in the past three months. By comparison, the mining magnate and the party’s accounts had spent $15 million in the three months on Meta and Google advertising in the lead-up to the federal election.
On November 11, an email sent to the UAP mailing list on behalf of Palmer explained the lack of cash splash.
“For the Victorian election, I’ve donated as much as I’m allowed to donate by the Victorian Electoral Commission — $4320.00,” it read.
“It’s their rules that prevent me from donating more as I have always done to support our party and give the Australian people a real alternative to Labor, the Liberals and the Greens.”
Palmer’s call for donations seems to have largely fallen on deaf ears. Victorian donation disclosure records show just 10 donations in the 2022-23 financial year so far — none since Palmer’s email — totalling less than $45,000.
Even with the donation caps, Palmer has appeared much less engaged in the state election. As far as Crikey can tell, he hasn’t done any media appearances in the lead-up to the election.
His personal Facebook page has north of 200,000 followers, more than the UAP and Senator Ralph Babet combined, and so is an important way to amplify the party’s messages on social media. The Clive Palmer page hasn’t posted anything this month, has shared just four UAP posts since the party announced it was registered for the Victorian election, and has posted only one new post itself: a YouTube video entitled “KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov’s warning to America”.
Palmer’s seeming disinterest in the Victorian election has set up the conditions for a fascinating political experiment: what happens to a party built off the ego and riches of its larger-than-life founder if it has to go it alone?
