By Alasdair Pal
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian billionaire Clive Palmer launched on Wednesday a political party he said was directly inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump, months out from a nationwide federal election.
Mining magnate Palmer said his Trumpet of Patriots party would “drain the swamp” in the country’s capital Canberra, a reference to Trump’s plans to drastically cut the size of government.
“We think Donald Trump’s been very effective in reducing public expenditure,” Palmer told a news conference announcing the launch.
Palmer was critical of mass immigration and said the party would only recognise two genders, reflecting positions also favoured by Trump.
Trumpet of Patriots plans to stand candidates in all 150 seats in Australia’s lower house, as well as the upper chamber, known as the Senate, Palmer said.
Palmer, Australia’s 18th richest person with a net worth of $2.1 billion according to Forbes, previously led the right-wing United Australia Party (UAP), sitting as a lawmaker in the lower house for three years from 2013.
Palmer spent around A$100 million ($63.52 million) on campaigning for the UAP in the last federal election, yielding a single Senator in the upper house.
He failed to register UAP in time for this year’s election, that must be held by May.
Prime Minster Anthony Albanese is yet to announce the date of the poll, that could be as early as March after the country’s central bank cut interest rates on Tuesday, a boost for the government that has seen its popularity fall due to cost of living pressures.
($1 = 1.5743 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Sam Holmes)
