Clive Palmer vows to bombard Australians with political ads for his Trumpet of Patriots party as the billionaire calls for a radical shake-up of the system.
Cost of living is at the centre of Mr Palmer’s pitch in a National Press Club address on Thursday, saying he would cut government waste and allow Australians to take 30 per cent of their super to pay for a house deposit.
The coalition supports allowing people to use part of their superannuation to pay for a house deposit but Labor and some economists argue that would only drive up house prices and drain young Australians of retirement savings.
The mining billionaire criticised Labor and the coalition as self-serving, vowed to seize on discontent with political elites and copy US President Donald Trump’s policies by putting Australia first and clearing out career politicians.
“I haven’t met a good politician yet … that wouldn’t sell his mother and sister for re-election rather than do what’s better for the country,” he said.
“The simple reason the cost of living is so high is because Australians are being ripped off by the political system and the lobbyists that support them.
Mr Palmer said there needs to be a 15 per cent licensing fee on iron ore exports, with the windfall used to pay down Australia’s debt.
Asked how suing the government for hundreds of billions of dollars in compensation for a rejected mining project would improve the cost of living, he said he would become a “one-man charity” if he was awarded such damages.
“You’ll see new hospitals in many states and we’ll be feeding the hungry Australians in this nation,” he said, eating Tim Tam biscuits on stage while taking questions after his address.
The mining magnate is set to carpet-bomb Australians with advertisements for his party and policies as he runs candidates across the nation.
Mr Palmer said he would exceed $50 million but would not comment on how much he would spend at the election beyond “what my wife will let me”.
Asked what his metric for success was after securing the election of only one senator, Ralph Babet, at the 2022 federal election after running candidates in every seat and spending about $120 million, he said the cash splash was about putting forward new ideas.
More competition is needed against the two major parties with current policies failing Australians, he said.
“I could lose another 100 million dollars out of this election. Well, that’s OK, but I think democracy is important,” he said.
Being involved in the campaign was more exciting than “playing lawn bowls”, the 70-year-old added.
Following his address, he told AAP he would not spend as much as in the last campaign but ads would be more concentrated because of the tighter time frame.
His expenditure has been citied by Labor as a reason for donation and spending caps, as the government said big-money influence needs to be stripped from politics and billionaires should not be able to buy elections.
The campaign reforms won’t be in place for the upcoming election, meaning expenditure and donations remain uncapped.