Mining magnate says he sacrificed winning seats in the election for his United Australia party to prioritise keeping out Bill Shorten

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Clive Palmer says he “decided to polarise the electorate” with an anti-Labor advertising blitz in the final weeks of the election campaign, rather than attempting to win seats for his United Australia party.

Palmer told ABC radio in Queensland on Tuesday that two weeks before the election, the UAP conducted research that showed it would win four Senate seats and an 11% share of the national vote.

“But it also showed Bill Shorten would be elected prime minister,” Palmer said.

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“We thought that would be a disaster for Australia so we decided to polarise the electorate and we thought we’d put what advertising we had left ... into explaining to the people what Shorten’s economic plans were for the country and how they needed to be worried about them.”

Palmer cut a preference deal with the Coalition early in the campaign. He spent an estimated $60m on personal and UAP bright yellow advertising and ran candidates in every lower house seat. The party won no seats in parliament and 3.4% of the first-preference vote.

But Palmer said his shift to attacking Shorten and Labor immediately “improved the government’s position” and that they won a majority on the back of his preferences.

“Ninety per cent of those preferences flowed to the Liberal party and they’ve won by about 2% so our vote has got them across the line.”

Palmer also dismissed criticism, including from federal Labor president Wayne Swan that he’d subverted the process by spending millions on an underhand campaign.



“What about the Greens? What about GetUp? It’s just a load of rubbish – [Wayne Swan’s] just a sore loser.”

Palmer said the campaign was a better use of his claimed $4bn personal wealth than a donation to charity.

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“It’s just something that we can do to make the country a better place,” he said.

“That’s how I look at it, that’s more effective than giving someone meals on wheels.”

Paid workers who handed out how-to-vote cards for the UAP on election day were given employee forms for Palmer’s mining company, Waratah Coal, in order to be paid.

Waratah Coal is seeking federal environmental approval for its proposed Alpha North coalmine in the Galilee Basin.

Palmer denied to the ABC he was seeking favourable treatment for his business interests in exchange for supporting the Coalition.