Clive Palmer and his companies have pumped more than $80,000 into his spoiler political party during the past three weeks – including paying coal company staff to support his anti-Labor campaign at the Queensland election.
Liberal National party sources have told Guardian Australia a deal is already done for the LNP opposition to receive preference flows from Palmer’s United Australia party, which has launched a pre-election advertising blitz of yellow billboards telling voters to “give Labor the boot”.
At the 2019 federal election, Palmer spent $84m on advertising and said he deliberately decided to “polarise the electorate” by running attacks on Labor in the campaign’s final weeks.
Guardian Australia has attempted to contact Palmer and the United Australia party.
Queensland political donations data – which is published in real time – shows Palmer and companies he controls have begun to direct money and in-kind support to the UAP.
On 12 August, Palmer extended up to $40,000 credit to the United Australia party.
The data shows four separate Palmer companies – his flagship mining company Mineralogy, subsidiary Waratah Coal, golf club Palmer Gold Coast, and thoroughbred breeding farm Cold Mountain Stud – have had staff working on the UAP campaign and declared their wages as in-kind donations.
A separate Palmer company, Palmer Coolum Resort, has declared a portion of an accountant’s wages as a gift to the UAP.
The data also shows how the UAP has begun running Facebook ads that will appear in the news feed of every Queenslander of voting age who is on the social platform.
Palmer made a personal donation of $6,380 for a “video advertisement on Facebook targeting all over 18yrs old Queenslanders”. The ads cost Palmer $220 a day and will run for 29 days, from 28 August to 24 September.
The mining magnate’s involvement in the Queensland election campaign will likely be controversial and closely scrutinised, after his spending and impact at the 2019 federal poll.
Earlier this year, his links to several influential LNP backroom figures involved in an attempt to replace the party’s state leader, Deb Frecklington, exposed divisions within the party and led to calls for its president, David Hutchinson, to stand down.
Hutchinson had been hired by Mineralogy. Under pressure to quit the party, he first quit his role with Palmer’s company, then later stood down as LNP president.
Senior LNP members say Hutchinson’s decision to stand down only obscures the ongoing links to other influential backroom figures, including the former president Bruce McIver, and lobbyists Larry Anthony and Malcolm Cole.
Two separate LNP sources said they understood a preference agreement had been struck with the UAP, and that Palmer would run an anti-Labor billboard campaign that focused on Labor-held marginal seats.
anti-Labor advert from Clive Palmer on one of the biggest billboards in the Valley. (Hard to read the fine print in the authorisation, but looks like it’s on behalf of Clive’s mining company, not his political party) #qldpol #auspol pic.twitter.com/FNfytYrkHH
— Andrew Bartlett (@AndrewBartlett) August 7, 2020
Some senior LNP members say they are “furious” and “concerned” about the agreement, which they believe has the potential to backfire given Palmer’s public campaign to end border closures, which polling shows are overwhelmingly popular.
Palmer has been open about his intention to campaign against Labor and has suggested the “main game” for all opposition parties is to remove the government.
In a lengthy interview with the Brisbane Sunday Mail, Palmer reportedly said he wanted to influence the upcoming Queensland poll in the same manner as the 2019 federal election.
“It was an important moment [the 2019 campaign] and we acted decisively. We did it for all Australians,” Palmer said.
The UAP has preselected candidates in 11 of 93 seats.
