"Australia ain't gonna cop it, no Australia's not gonna cop it, Aussies not gonna cop it any more." In the Twisted Sister's original, lead singer Dee Snider sings: "Oh we're not gonna take it, no we ain't gonna take it, oh we're not gonna take it any more." Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Twisted Sister often call out politicians for ignoring the copyright surrounding their famed anthem.

In 2012, conservative American vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan used the song in his campaign until he was requested to stop. In 2013, pro-choice activists in Texas sung it, which Snider endorsed. And in 2015, Donald Trump used the song for his US presidential campaign before Snider asked him to stop. French said "law-and-order parties" were often most ignorant of copyright. "In the history of the song being out there, whenever a left-wing politician has asked to use it, they've always called and asked. It seems that every time the song gets used illegally it's by an ultra-conservative, right-wing politician." He added: "I don't know why parties that consider themselves law-and-order parties have traditionally been the least adherent to the law. I'm kinda astounded by that." Mr Palmer responded by threatening to counter-sue.

"I wrote the words personally that appear on our promotion and hold the copyright for those words," he said. Illustration: Matt Golding Credit: "If [Twisted Sister] attempt to use my lyrics in any of their songs, I'll not hesitate to take legal proceedings against them. As foreigners, they should stay out of Australian domestic politics and stay where they are. Aussies are not going to cop it at all!" He claimed that the Snider's upcoming Australian tour had been slow to sell tickets: "This is understandable given how long ago they had any influence in the world of music." Entertainment lawyer Ruthanna Klawansky said that despite Mr Palmer's lyric switch, he remained exposed to litigation.

"He's looking pretty exposed on the basis that he doesn't have permission to use the song," Ms Klawansky said. "Whenever someone is using someone else's work, the general position, although there are some exceptions, is that you need permission from the rights-holder to do that." Mr Palmer's possible defences, including that he used the song satirically or that he did not use a substantial enough part of the song to warrant legal action, would likely be unsuccessful, in Ms Klawansky's opinion. Mr Palmer may face a separate legal issue known as "passing off": where a song, or other product, appears as though it belongs to someone it does not. "It looks like there is some risk here because the band has suggested publicly that they do not endorse or want to be associated with the campaign," Ms Klawansky said.

"There is a chance that using their song creates some kind of suggestion that Twisted Sister either endorses their campaign or is happy to be associated with it." We're Not Gonna Take It peaked at number six in Australia in 1984. Twisted Sister toured the country in 1985, and while French said the band had officially retired, he said that "maybe one day we'll be back". Snider, however, will perform four shows across Sydney and Melbourne from the end of January. The lead singer issued an ultimatum to Mr Palmer on Wednesday. "We are contacting our legal team to address this," he wrote on Twitter.