Mining magnate Clive Palmer has launched a ‘Make Great Again’ political party just weeks before the federal election.
The billionaire is set to announce a new political party called ‘Trumpet of the Patriots’ at a press conference in Canberra at 11am.
It will replace his United Party, which he failed in a High Court bid to re-register, and will focus on slashing ‘government waste and corruption’.
‘For too long, ns have suffered from a Labor and Liberal duopoly of power supported by the Greens and now the Teals,’ a statement on the new party’s temporary website reads.
‘The simple reason your cost of living is so high is because ns are being ripped off by the political system, unelected bureaucrats and the lobbyists who support them.
Echoing US President Donald Trump’s language, the statement adds: ‘Enough is enough! We will drain the swamp!’
The Trumpet of the Patriots was originally registered in 2011, according to a n Electoral Commission register.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the party was originally known as the Country Alliance, before changing its name multiple times.
Them name changes included the n Federation Party in 2020, before it was changed to the Trumpet of Patriots last year.
The party is expected to run candidates in all lower house and open senate seats.
Its website has an application portal for potential candidates, requiring a federal police check, a $100 nomination fee and a short personal biography, followed by a series of questions.
The deadline for applications closes on at the end of February.
It will be the last time Mr Palmer is able to splurge huge sums of cash on an election campaign due to new donation and spending caps coming into force next year.
In 2022, Mr Palmer spent over $120 million on the campaign and the United Party candidates received over 600,000 votes in the lower house and over half a million in the Senate.
However, it only resulted in the party securing one senate seat, currently held by controversial senator Ralph Babet.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was immediately dismissive of Mr Palmer’s new party when asked about it on Wednesday morning.
‘A bloke who spends over $100million to deliver one senate seat with a bloke who sits in the corner and just engages in conspiracy theories I don’t think represents value for money,’ the Mr Albanese said.