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The United Australia Party (UAP), formerly known as Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and the Palmer United Party (PUP), is an
Australian political party The politics of Australia has a mild two-party system, with two dominant political groupings in the Australian political system, the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party of Australia. Federally, 12 of the 151 members of the lower house ( ...
formed by mining magnate
Clive Palmer Clive Frederick Palmer (born 26 March 1954) is an Australian billionaire businessman and politician. He has iron ore, nickel, and coal holdings. Palmer owns many businesses such as Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, t ...
in April 2013. The party was deregistered by the
Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...
in 2017, revived and re-registered in 2018, and voluntarily deregistered in 2022 (but remains registered in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
). The party fielded candidates in all 150
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
seats at the
2013 federal election The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on Saturday, 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal ...
. Palmer, the party's leader, was elected to the
Division of Fairfax The Division of Fairfax is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The current MP is Ted O'Brien (Australian politician), Ted O'Brien of the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party. ...
and it reached a peak of three senators following the rerun of the Western Australian Senate election in 2014. When the party was revived under its original name in 2018, it was represented by ex- One Nation senator
Brian Burston Brian Burston (born 25 February 1948) is a former Australian politician. He was a Senator for New South Wales from 2016 to 2019, originally representing One Nation. After falling out with party leader Pauline Hanson over company tax cuts, Burs ...
in the federal parliament. At state and territory level, the party has been represented in the Parliaments of
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
and the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
. Two members of the
Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...
joined in April 2013, while three members of the
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also known as the Parliament of the Northern Territory) is the unicameral legislature of Australia’s Northern Territory. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member ...
, joined the party in April 2014. Both the Queensland members and the NT members left the party later in 2014.Carl Judge quits PUP: Palmer United Party's only Queensland MP resigns to become independent – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
. Abc.net.au. Retrieved on 5 May 2015.
The party unsuccessfully contested the
South Australian South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which includes some of the most arid parts ...
,
Tasmanian Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The state encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th ...
, and Victorian state elections in 2014. Since the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...
, the party has supported anti-lockdown politics. On 23 August 2021, independent MP
Craig Kelly Craig Kelly (born 29 September 1963) is an Australian conservative politician who represented the division of Hughes as a Liberal Party (and later United Australia Party) MP from 2010 until his defeat at the 2022 federal election. Kelly in ...
joined the party, becoming its first representative in the lower house since Palmer's retirement in 2016. Kelly became the leader of the party, with Palmer acting as the party's chairman. The UAP announced a preference deal with the Liberal Democrats for the 2022 federal election, where each party encouraged its supporters to choose the other as their second preference. Candidates were endorsed to run in every lower house seat in the May 2022 federal election as well as the senate and
Ralph Babet Ralph Emmanuel Didier "Deej" Babet ( ; born 29 June 1983) is an Australian politician. He has been a senator for Victoria in the Australian Parliament since 2022, representing the United Australia Party (UAP), and is the party's only current fe ...
was elected as a senator for Victoria at that election.


History


Foundation

Palmer announced in November 2012 he was considering re-forming the
United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...
, which ceased to exist after it was folded into the present-day
Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...
in 1945. He had been a longtime supporter of the federal
National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...
and the
Liberal National Party of Queensland The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major conservative political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 2008 by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal Party and the National Party. In most other states ...
(LNP). Palmer's nephew, Blair Brewster, had applied to trademark the party name two months earlier. There was speculation that it would join forces with
Katter's Australian Party Katter's Australian Party (KAP) is an agrarian populist political party in Australia that advocates for agrarian socialist economic policies and conservative social policies. It was founded by Bob Katter, an independent and former National ...
, but this did not take place. A month following the party's founding, Palmer announced that the party would be renamed the ''Palmer United Party'', so that registration could be granted, and to avoid confusion with a separate party that was already registered with the
Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...
, the Uniting Australia Party. The party continued to brand itself as a revival of the old
United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...
, with the party’s website claiming that the three leaders of the original party—
Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Australia, from 1932 until his death in 1939. He held office as the inaugural leader of the United Australia Par ...
,
Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
and
Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...
—were its former leaders.


2013 and 2014 elections

In April 2013, Palmer announced he was relaunching the UAP with the goal of running candidates in the
2013 federal election The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on Saturday, 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal ...
and had applied for registration in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
. He told ''
Lateline ''Lateline'' was an Australian television news program which ran from 1990 until 2017. The program initially aired weeknights on ABC TV. In later years it was also broadcast internationally throughout Asia and the Pacific on the Australia Plu ...
'' "It's a reformation of the original party". The party also endorsed candidates to run in the Senate. In the state of Victoria, two retired sportsmen were announced as Senate candidates:
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
player
Doug Hawkins Douglas James Hawkins (born 5 May 1960) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented and in the Australian Football League (AFL). He also enjoyed a brief career in media and ran for the Senate, as a member of Palmer United Party, in ...
and boxer
Barry Michael Barry Michael (born 2 June 1955) is an Australian former boxer. He was in his prime during the 1980s and is best remembered for his 1985 fight against Lester Ellis, which received nationwide television coverage in Australia. Early life Micha ...
.
Peter Slipper Peter Neil Slipper (born 14 February 1950) is an Australian former politician and bishop who served as the 27th speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 2011 to 2012. A member of the Liberal Party of Australia for most of his ca ...
, the
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
(formerly LNP) member for the
Division of Fisher The Division of Fisher is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The current MP is Andrew Wallace of the Liberal National Party of Queensland. Geography Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determ ...
(and previously Speaker of the House of Representatives), joined the party on 11 May 2013, but the party revoked his membership within hours. In the 2013 election, Palmer won the
Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...
-area seat of Fairfax with a 26 percent primary and 50.03 percent two-candidate preferred vote, a margin of 53 votes. Senate candidates
Glenn Lazarus Glenn Patrick Lazarus (born 11 December 1965) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, and a former Australian Senator. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative , Lazarus won premi ...
(a former player of the National Rugby League's Canberra Raiders, Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm) and
Jacqui Lambie Jacquiline Louise Lambie (born 26 February 1971) is an Australian politician who is the leader and founder of the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN). She is a Australian Senate, Senator for Tasmania since 2019, and was previously a Senator from 2014 to ...
were elected for Queensland and Tasmania on preferences, after primary votes of 10 percent and 7 percent respectively. The nationwide vote in the Senate was 5 percent. The outcome of the Senate vote in
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
was disputed and the
Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...
ordered a re-run of the vote for April 2014. In October 2013,
Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party The Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party was a List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia from 2013 to 2017. Ricky Muir held a seat for the party in the Australian Senate from 2013 to 2016. The party voluntarily de-regis ...
senator-elect
Ricky Muir Ricky Lee Muir (born 25 December 1980) is an Australian politician who served as a Australian Senate, Senator for Victoria (Australia), Victoria from 2014 to 2016. Muir was elected to the Senate at the 2013 Australian federal election, 2013 fed ...
, of
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
, agreed to enter into an informal alliance with the PUP. One of the seats in Western Australia’s special election was won by the PUP’s Dio Wang, with first preferences of 12%, an increase of 7%, giving the PUP bloc four senators when new members took their seats in July 2014. Muir soon left the alliance, followed by Lambie who resigned to sit as an independent in November 2014, and similarly, Lazarus in March 2015. Following the April 2014 Western Australian special election, an advertising monitoring company reported that the PUP spent A$477,000 on TV advertising during the party's re-election campaign, which exceeded the combined spending of the Liberal, Labor and Greens parties on campaign advertising.


Resignations and deregistration

On 11 August 2014, Queensland Palmer United Party MP Alex Douglas resigned from the party to become an independent citing
cronyism Cronyism is a specific form of in-group favoritism, the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. ...
: "When I resigned from the LNP in November, 2012, I publicly stated there was a culture in the LNP, and there still is, of looking after mates and relatives, and that I do not support these flawed ideas." On 8 September 2014, Northern Territory PUP MP
Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu (born 10 June 1961), also known as Maralampuwi Kurrupuwu (), is an Australian politician. He was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2012 to 2016. He was originally elected for the Country Liber ...
resigned from the party and returned to the CLP, saying "there is no party structure in PUP and no help available". He said that Palmer had promised to give resources and staff to himself, Anderson and Lee, but had got "nothing" at all. He added that Palmer hadn't met with him at all since his initial defection from CLP. On 8 October 2014, Queensland's only remaining PUP MP Carl Judge resigned from the party to become an independent. On 24 November 2014, Senator
Jacqui Lambie Jacquiline Louise Lambie (born 26 February 1971) is an Australian politician who is the leader and founder of the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN). She is a Australian Senate, Senator for Tasmania since 2019, and was previously a Senator from 2014 to ...
resigned from the PUP, announcing that she would remain in the Senate as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
. Lambie's resignation followed several weeks of disagreements with party leader Clive Palmer, culminating in her voting with a group of senators calling themselves the "coalition of common sense" in passing a disallowance motion on legislation supported by PUP to repeal the Future of Financial Advice reforms introduced by the previous Labor government. On 29 November 2014, Northern Territory MPs
Alison Anderson Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson (born 28 January 1958) is an Australian politician. She was member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly between 2005 and 2016, representing the electorate of Namatijra (known as MacDonnell until 2012). Cu ...
and Larisa Lee announced they were resigning from the PUP to sit as independents. Anderson stated that she and Lee could no longer tolerate the "absolute chaos" in a party that had become a "national disgrace". She also accused the PUP of doing almost nothing to connect with them. Lee said that the PUP had "just kind of left (us) in the dark" after promising that she, Anderson and Kurrupuwu would be in a position to carry the party's banner and help them fight for Aboriginal rights. On 13 March 2015, Queensland Senator
Glenn Lazarus Glenn Patrick Lazarus (born 11 December 1965) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, and a former Australian Senator. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative , Lazarus won premi ...
announced his resignation from the PUP, accusing Clive Palmer of bullying, swearing and yelling at people. Lazarus stated "I have a different view of team work. Given this, I felt it best that I resign from the party and pursue my senate role as an independent senator." His wife Tess Sanders-Lazarus joined in, saying "I did make it clear to Clive that I was not happy with being bullied and spoken to using foul language." Palmer sacked her and denied their accusations. PUP national director Peter Burke, responded by saying: "There is no doubting the timing of Senator Lazarus's defection from the party which came after Tess' sacking as a result of her not doing her job." Mr Burke said Tess Lazarus was dismissed for spending her time writing speeches and questions for her husband instead of working on agreed party duties. "After repeated efforts to have her engage in the correct party duties were ignored, the party had no alternative but to dismiss her." Palmer United Party support collapsed at the 2015 federal by-elections, losing more than two thirds of its vote at the December 2015 North Sydney by-election, polling last of 13 candidates with a primary vote of just 0.5 percent, compared to 1.7 percent at the 2013 federal election. The party lost more than half its vote at the September 2015 Canning by-election with a primary vote of 3.1 percent, compared to 6.9 percent at the previous election. Despite having had four parliamentarians elected at the 2013 election and subsequent 2014 Western Australian Senate election, only one, Dio Wang, contested the 2016 federal election for the Palmer United Party.
Glenn Lazarus Glenn Patrick Lazarus (born 11 December 1965) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, and a former Australian Senator. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative , Lazarus won premi ...
and
Jacqui Lambie Jacquiline Louise Lambie (born 26 February 1971) is an Australian politician who is the leader and founder of the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN). She is a Australian Senate, Senator for Tasmania since 2019, and was previously a Senator from 2014 to ...
quit the party mid-term. In early May 2016, party leader
Clive Palmer Clive Frederick Palmer (born 26 March 1954) is an Australian billionaire businessman and politician. He has iron ore, nickel, and coal holdings. Palmer owns many businesses such as Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, t ...
announced he would not seek re-election to his seat of Fairfax and later that month also ruled out running for a federal senate seat, ending his involvement in Australian electoral politics. The party fielded a single
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
candidate in the
Division of Herbert The Division of Herbert is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the states and territories of Australia, state of Queensland. Eligible voters within the Division elect a single representative ...
, and
senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
candidates in every state. Two months later, Wang lost his Senate seat in the double dissolution election, as the Party lost all representation in a near-total swing against it, receiving less than 0.01% of the House of Representatives vote. On 23 September 2016, the PUP applied for deregistration in all states. A party spokesperson stated that the party was always set up primarily as a federal party, but would no longer contest state elections. On 19 April 2017, Clive Palmer announced that he was formally disbanding the Palmer United Party and would cancel its registration as a federal political party with the
Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...
. It was formally deregistered on 5 May 2017.


2018 revival

On 23 February 2018, Palmer announced that he would register the party again to contest seats at the next federal election. On 17 June 2018, he relaunched the party as the United Australia Party. On 18 June 2018, Clive Palmer announced the reformation of the party as the United Australia Party, with former One Nation senator,
Brian Burston Brian Burston (born 25 February 1948) is a former Australian politician. He was a Senator for New South Wales from 2016 to 2019, originally representing One Nation. After falling out with party leader Pauline Hanson over company tax cuts, Burs ...
joining as its first political member and senate leader. It was re-registered by the
Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...
on 12 December 2018. As the 2019 federal election approached, the party faced a series of controversies. It was reported that the nomination papers submitted by at least 19 UAP candidates were too incomplete or inconsistent to demonstrate that they are not dual citizens, which would render them ineligible under section 44 of the Constitution, although the nomination forms require candidates to affirm that they are eligible under s 44. In May, the claim made in her campaign material by Queensland UAP Senate candidate Yodie Batzke that she was an "adjunct lecturer" at the
Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...
campus of
James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cair ...
was denied by that organisation. It said that she had delivered guest lectures there but was not an adjunct lecturer. The party contested every lower house seat in the
2019 Australian federal election The 2019 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 18 May 2019, to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia. The election had been called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissol ...
and made a preference deal with the Liberal party. The UAP failed to win seats in either chamber, but by directing its preferences to the LNP, the UAP helped the LNP garner a two-seat swing in Queensland, thereby allowing the Coalition to regain its majority. In 2020, the party's founder, Clive Palmer, was charged with fraud and corporate misconduct offences. It was alleged that he had diverted at least $10 million to the benefit of the Palmer United Party in the weeks before the 2013 election. Palmer spent $60 million at the 2019 election. The United Australia Party was renamed as Clive Palmer's United Australia Party on 31 January 2020.


2021 iteration

On 11 August 2021, an application for the party name United Australia Party and party abbreviation UAP to be officially registered was approved by the
Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...
(AEC). On 23 August 2021, Independent MP
Craig Kelly Craig Kelly (born 29 September 1963) is an Australian conservative politician who represented the division of Hughes as a Liberal Party (and later United Australia Party) MP from 2010 until his defeat at the 2022 federal election. Kelly in ...
having been elected as the Liberal representative for the seat of Hughes, joined the party. Kelly became the leader of the party, with Palmer remaining as the party's chairman. In September 2021 Craig Kelly and the UAP started a mass
SMS Short Message Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile phones exchange short text messages, t ...
campaign; there was a negative backlash to the campaign with many people referring to the messages as
spam Spam most often refers to: * Spam (food), a consumer brand product of canned processed pork of the Hormel Foods Corporation * Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages ** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages ...
and questioning the legality of such messages. In September 2021, the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' reported on objections to the application to change the name to the United Australia Party that had been made to the AEC. The objections described it as an act of political anachronism and cultural appropriation or theft.


2022 election

Several of the UAP's Senate candidates for the
2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 May 2022, to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Morrison government, Liberal–National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, soug ...
have espoused
anti-vaccine Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these Social networking, collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine h ...
beliefs, or are business associates of Palmer himself. The UAP encouraged supporters to preference most sitting MPs last on their votes, except in seats with MPs that support policies proposed by Craig Kelly. Seats where the UAP did not preference the incumbent last include
Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
(TAS), Chisholm (VIC),
Flynn Flynn is an Irish surname or first name, an anglicised form of the Irish Ó Floinn or possibly Mac Floinn, meaning "descendant or son of Flann" (a byname meaning "reddish (complexion)" or "ruddy"). The name is more commonly used as a surname t ...
(QLD), Greenway (NSW), Mackellar (NSW),
Reid Reid is a surname of Scotland, Scottish origin. It means "red". People with the surname * Alec Cunningham-Reid (1895–1977), British politician * Alan Reid (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Reid (disambiguation), multiple people * Alexan ...
(NSW), Wentworth (NSW) and Wide Bay (QLD). Despite the party preferencing most incumbents last, the party still directed its preferences to the Nationals in regional and rural electorates. In
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, the party preferenced the Liberal National Party over Labor and the Greens in all but four electorates: Dickson,
Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...
,
Groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man and Groomsman, ...
and
McPherson McPherson is a Scottish surname. It is an Anglicised form of the Gaelic ''Mac a' Phearsain'' and ''Mac a Phearsoin'', meaning "son of the parson". Notable people with the surname include: In sports *Adrian McPherson, American football player ...
. The party preferenced incumbents last in all
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
n seats. Palmer claimed that he preferenced the Liberals above Labor in 55% of seats and Labor above the Liberals in 45% of seats. At the 2022 election, Kelly lost his seat of Hughes, and the UAP failed to win any seats in the House of Representatives, and only won a single seat in the Senate, despite an estimated $100 million advertising campaign.


2022 deregistration

On 8 September 2022, the UAP was voluntarily deregistered as a party. Ralph Babet, the party's sole senator, told media the deregistration was for "administrative reasons" and that the party will "reestablish before the next election". Babet is able to continue identifying as a United Australia Party member in the Senate, with the office of the Clerk of the Senate stating that Babet’s status as a UAP senator would not change until he advised the office it had. In February 2025, the High Court ruled that Palmer cannot register the UAP again for the 2025 federal election. Following this ruling, Palmer announced he had joined the
Trumpet of Patriots Trumpet of Patriots (TOP) is a right-wing populist political party in Australia. It is registered with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) as well as in New South Wales for local government elections and the Northern Territory for parlia ...
and had become Chairman of the party in order to contest the election.


State and territory politics


New South Wales

The United Australia Party has never been registered in New South Wales. At the 2023 state election, the United Australia Party endorsed nine candidates (including party leader
Craig Kelly Craig Kelly (born 29 September 1963) is an Australian conservative politician who represented the division of Hughes as a Liberal Party (and later United Australia Party) MP from 2010 until his defeat at the 2022 federal election. Kelly in ...
) for the
Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...
as "Group B" due to the party being unregistered in New South Wales. No candidates from this group were elected.


Northern Territory

In April 2014, three
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
members of the
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also known as the Parliament of the Northern Territory) is the unicameral legislature of Australia’s Northern Territory. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member ...
Alison Anderson Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson (born 28 January 1958) is an Australian politician. She was member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly between 2005 and 2016, representing the electorate of Namatijra (known as MacDonnell until 2012). Cu ...
, Larisa Lee, and
Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu (born 10 June 1961), also known as Maralampuwi Kurrupuwu (), is an Australian politician. He was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2012 to 2016. He was originally elected for the Country Liber ...
– joined Palmer United, with Anderson becoming the party's leader in the Territory. The trio had resigned from the ruling
Country Liberal Party The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP), commonly known as the Country Liberals, is a centre-right and conservative political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In territory politics, it operates in a two-party system wi ...
(CLP) during the previous month, leaving the CLP with a one-seat majority in the unicameral
Northern Territory Parliament The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also known as the Parliament of the Northern Territory) is the unicameral legislature of Australia’s Northern Territory. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member ...
. After the MPs joined Palmer United,
Campbell Newman Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman (born 12 August 1963) is an Australian former politician who served as the 38th Premier of Queensland from 26 March 2012 to 14 February 2015. He served as the member for Ashgrove in the Legislative Assembly of Que ...
, the
Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...
, suggested Clive Palmer was attempting to "buy votes", which resulted in Palmer initiating defamation proceedings against Newman. The PUP is not registered with the Northern Territory Electoral Commission, but the party already meets the NTEC's eligibility requirements for registration because it is "registered under the Commonwealth Electoral Act". However, Francis Xavier resigned from the party to rejoin the CLP in September 2014, and Lee and Anderson resigned to become Independents in November.


Queensland

The United Australia Party (UAP) was registered with the
Electoral Commission of Queensland The Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) is established under the ''Electoral Act 1992'' as an independent statutory authority, responsible for the impartial conduct of state and local government elections in Queensland. Functions The Commi ...
(ECQ) on 5 June 2013. Alex Douglas and Carl Judge, the members for Gaven and
Yeerongpilly Yeerongpilly is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Yeerongpilly had a population of 2,033 people. Geography Yeerongpilly is south-west of the Brisbane GPO. A small section of the north eastern bound ...
, respectively, in the
Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...
, joined the party the following day, having announced their intention to join the week before. Both had been elected as Liberal National Party MPs at the 2012 state election, but fell out with the LNP and resigned from the party later that year, sitting as independents in the interim. The party remained registered with the ECQ under the United Australia Party name until 28 February 2014, when its registration was updated to reflect the change to Palmer United Party. The proposed name change had been announced late the previous year, with Douglas announcing it in parliament on 20 November 2013. Douglas quit the party and sat as an independent from August 2014, and Judge followed suit two months later. PUP contested its first Queensland state election in 2015. Its state leader was John Bjelke-Petersen, son of former Queensland Premier
Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...
. PUP had a poor run-up to the election; although actively stopping a number of federal education and health reforms in the Senate, Lambie's decision to leave the party following the departure of Carl Judge and Alex Douglas at the state level, gave an impression that the party was in disarray. This was reflected in the pre-election polling that had PUP at less than 4%. To complicate matters, Clive Palmer was sick during much of the campaign, missing the election launch. This left the inexperienced Bjelke-Petersen to do most of the electioneering. Despite these difficulties, PUP managed to field 50 candidates out of a possible 89 electoral districts in Queensland. PUP policies included: a First Farm Buyers Grant; to abolish payroll tax for businesses and; tighter regulation of coal seam gas operations. The PUP received 5.1% of first preference votes. While counting was underway, the PUP candidate for Ferny Grove, Mark Taverner, was revealed to be an undischarged bankrupt. Under Australian electoral law, Taverner was ineligible to run. This led to speculation that a by-election would be required in the seat; Labor was narrowly ahead on the two-party vote, and Taverner had preferenced Labor. However, the final tally showed that Taverner's votes had no bearing on the outcome, so a by-election was not required. On 23 September 2016, The PUP applied for deregistration in Queensland, effectively terminating its operation in that state. A party spokesperson stated that the party was set up as and would remain a federal party, but no longer contest state elections. The party ran in the Queensland state election in 2020, it only got 0.62% of the vote. It didn't run in the Queensland state election in 2024.


South Australia

Two independent candidates at the
2014 South Australian state election The 2014 South Australian state election elected members to the 53rd Parliament of South Australia on 15 March 2014, to fill all 47 seats in the House of Assembly (lower house) and 11 of 22 seats in the Legislative Council (upper house). The 12- ...
were endorsed by Palmer United. Ngoc Chau Huynh and
Kristian Rees Kristian Rees (born 6 January 1980 in Adelaide, South Australia) is an Australian soccer player who plays as a Defender (football), central defender. Club career He made his National Soccer League, NSL debut playing for Adelaide City. He was ...
(a former soccer player who finished his career at the then Clive Palmer-owned
Gold Coast United Gold Coast United Football Club is an Australian Association football, soccer club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The earliest incarnation of the club formed in 1966 and its home ground was at Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach. The first ...
) ran on a combined ticket for the
Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...
, and polled 1.6 percent without either being elected. The party had failed to achieve registration by the required date, with the election held on the same date as the Tasmanian state election. The party has never run in a state election in South Australia.


Tasmania

After an appeal against the party's registration was dismissed in the
Supreme Court of Tasmania The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. Together with the Magistrates Court, it forms the judiciary in Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the mid ...
, Palmer United was registered with the
Tasmanian Electoral Commission The Tasmanian Electoral Commission (TEC) in Tasmania, Australia, established in 2005, is an independent office which conducts parliamentary and Local government in Tasmania, local government elections in Tasmania. Elections for the Tasmanian Hous ...
(TEC) on 17 February 2014, and was one of seven parties to contest the March 2014 state election. The party polled 4.97 percent of first-preference votes in the
House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...
, but did not win a seat. It achieved its best result in the
Division of Braddon The Division of Braddon is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the States and territories of Australia, state of Tasmania. The current MP is Anne Urquhart of the Australian Labor Party, Lab ...
, where its candidates polled 7.18 percent to finish ahead of the
Tasmanian Greens The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign. They form a part of the Australian Greens. Followi ...
, and third overall, behind the Liberals and Labor. Kevin Morgan, a former public servant who stood in Braddon, was the party's leader during the election, while Barbara Etter, the former CEO of the Integrity Commission Tasmania and a former assistant commissioner of
Western Australia Police The Western Australia Police Force, colloquially WAPOL, provides police services throughout the state of Western Australia to a population of 2.66 million people, of which 2.11 million reside in the Perth Metropolitan Region. Western Australia h ...
, was deputy leader, standing in Denison. Palmer United and the Liberals were subject to TEC investigations over claims they had breached electoral advertising rules by publishing the name and photos of opposing candidates without their permission. The party reportedly spent "more than $1 million on saturation advertising" during the campaign. The party hasn't run in any Tasmanian state elections since then.


Victoria

The party ran in the
2014 Victorian state election The 2014 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 29 November 2014, was for the 58th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly and 40 seats in the Victorian Legislative Council were up for election. The incum ...
, running candidates in the Victorian Legislative Council, the party won 66,679 votes, or 1.95% of the vote, they did not win any seats. In January 2015, unsuccessful
Palmer United Party The United Australia Party (UAP), formerly known as Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and the Palmer United Party (PUP), is an Australian political party formed by mining magnate Clive Palmer in April 2013. The party was deregistered by ...
candidate Maria Rigoni petitioned the
Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...
to declare the 2014 election invalid, alleging that the Victorian Electoral Commission had breached the Electoral Act whilst conducting the election. Rigoni argued that the unprecedented high level of early voting demonstrated that the VEC had not applied or enforced the rule requiring applicants for an early or postal votes to declare a valid reason to an electoral officer that they were unable to vote on polling day. In 2022, Clive Palmer announced that Geoff Shaw had become the party's Victorian leader. The party ran in the
2022 Victorian state election The 2022 Victorian state election was held on Saturday, 26 November 2022 to elect the 60th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly (lower house) and all 40 seats in the Victorian Legislat ...
, running candidates in the Victorian Legislative Council, the party won 31,043 votes, or 0.83% of the vote, they did not win any seats. Victoria is the only state where the party is still registered.


Western Australia

Palmer, in the midst of a court case against Western Australian Premier
Mark McGowan Mark McGowan (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian former politician and naval officer who served as the 30th premier of Western Australia from 2017 until his retirement in 2023. He was the leader of the Western Australian branch of the Austr ...
, announced his party would not contest the 2021 state election. The party has never run in a state election in Western Australia.


Policies

The party's policies are, as of 18 September 2021: *
Lockdowns A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...
: it is against lockdowns and for the re-opening of borders, stating that the country's Constitution provides for the "absolutely free" movement of people within Australia. *Domestic vaccine passports: the UAP is against vaccine passports. * The doctor-patient relationship: the UAP "believes in the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship" and medical privacy. It says that alternative treatments which have shown success overseas "must be included in the treatment options and available for all Australians." *
National Cabinet The National Cabinet is the primary Australian intergovernmental decision-making forum composed of the prime minister and state and territory premiers and chief ministers of Australia’s six states and two mainland territories. Originally ...
: the UAP states that the National Cabinet has no legal basis and should be abolished quickly. *Energy: the UAP supports the use of nuclear power and further research into the generation of electricity from this source. *Defence: it is in favour of matching of other regional countries' nuclear fleet with Australia's own. It stresses the use of the defence budget for defence purposes only. *Free speech and "foreign tech giants": the UAP says that companies such as
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
and
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
"should not be able to censor Australian political debate" and seeks to legislate to prevent this. *"Australian values": the party stresses that "the most basic freedoms of parliamentary democracy - freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom of association" must be protected. *Zonal taxation: it advocates a "20% tax concession incentive" in rural areas to stimulate economic growth there and reduce the impact of congestion and overcrowding in cities. *Resource industry: the UAP says that there should be more onshore minerals processing, that more stages of the mining process should happen in Australia.


Leaders


Federal


Senate


Queensland


Northern Territory


Western Australia


Victoria


Representation in parliament

Below is a timeline of the representation of the party in federal, state and territory parliaments, including parliamentarians who were elected for the pary or defected to it, as well as election losses and defections from the party. Overall, the party was at its strongest from July to August 2014, with 9 members across the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
,
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
,
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also known as the Parliament of the Northern Territory) is the unicameral legislature of Australia’s Northern Territory. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member ...
and
Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...
.
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Electoral results


Federal


Maps

File:2022 Australian federal election - UAP.png, 2022


New South Wales


Queensland


South Australia


Tasmania


Victoria


See also

*
United Australia Party (2013) politicians The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...
*
List of political parties in Australia The politics of Australia has a mild two-party system, with two dominant political groupings in the Australian political system, the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party of Australia. Federally, 12 of the 151 members of the lower house ( ...
*
Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party The Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party was a List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia from 2013 to 2017. Ricky Muir held a seat for the party in the Australian Senate from 2013 to 2016. The party voluntarily de-regis ...
*
Pauline's United Australia Party Pauline's United Australia Party (PUAP) was an Australian political party launched by One Nation founder Pauline Hanson on 24 May 2007 after disputes within her former party led to her separation from it. It was registered by the Australian Elec ...
* Personalist party


References


External links


Official websiteMemo of understanding between the Palmer and Motoring partiesHamish Cairns 2013 Federal Election Photographs August-September 2013
State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...
- photographs of Clive Palmer and the United Australia Party on the 2013 campaign trail {{Authority control 2013 establishments in Australia Australian nationalist parties Conservative parties in Australia Political parties established in 2013 Political parties disestablished in 2017 Political parties disestablished in 2022 Political parties in Queensland Right-wing populist parties