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United Australia Party
United Australia Party
Website: https://www.unitedaustraliaparty.org.au/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/unitedausparty
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedAusParty
The United Australia Party are essentially the Clive Palmer Feelings Vehicle. Originally formed 2013, it is not a successor to the UAP of the 1930s and 1940s, which was a conservative Labor-Nationalist breakaway group and provided Menzies’ first prime ministership.
Being the Clive Palmer Feelings Vehicle, its policies tend to swing their focus quite wildly between elections. The most valuable assets they’ve probably provided Australia is Jacqui Lambie and endless billboards to deface. The least valuable assets they’ve provided include their habit of blanket saturation advertising and Clive Palmer.
Policies:
FREEDOM FREEDOM FREEDOM and promises to fix interest rate at a max of 3% for all mortgages for 5 years. That’s the UAP platform right now, from what I absorb via giant billboards and tv ads. Shockingly enough, I’m not supportive of either of these policies (also I’m not convinced they are achievable either). However, I’ve taken a look at the actual policy platform too.
UAP’s housing policy is a maximum 3% interest rates for all mortgages and $30,000 paid on home loans tax deductable each year. This is populist nonsense, a gigantic rort, and probably the most likely policy from any political party to send house prices even more stratospherically high. And of course, there is nothing here for renters – this is just making people who already have house mortgages have their houses accrue more value. I took a quick peek at what is currently being advertised as best interest rates (it’s around 2%), so I’d imagine a bunch of people are already paying around 3%.
Economic policies from UAP include a 15% export licence on iron ore to “repay the national debt” (oooh so why is this ok but a resource super profits tax of 40% isn’t, Palmer?). They want more ore and minerals processing in Australia to value ad before international sale. They are also calling for all superannuation to be invested in Australia: “Just like when John Curtin in World War 2 brought the troops back to save Australia, the United Australia Party will bring back a trillion dollars of Australian super back to Australia, to save Australia”. While this is some great nationalism, it’s considered ethically sound for managed funds to invest internationally. Also in nationalism, they want more support and labelling for Australians to buy Australian made products. UAP also want to build a nuclear power industry here.
In education policies, UAP want to abolish HECS debts. And let me admit, I am down for that, but this is astonishing as the only education policy. Nothing for childcare, primary or secondary education.
In tax policies, rather than increasing tax to fund all these policies, UAP instead want to decrease tax by up to 50% on second jobs (why second jobs? Income is income. This doesn’t make sense, given our tax system doesn’t quarantine payments by WHEN we earn the money; if you change employers during the year, does that then count as a second job for the lower tax rate? I can see all sorts of shenanigans). They want to abolish provisional tax for businesses and allow it to be paid at the end of the year (by my understanding provisional tax payments are intended to smooth the tax burden over the year and to also stop companies going bankrupt with giant tax debts as often). Also in terms of bankruptcy, UAP want businesses to be allowed to “trade out of difficulty”. According to UAP, the government are the main petitioners of bankruptcy and liquidation. To me this sounds like “let businesses run even further into the red, failing to pay their workers”. When a business goes bankrupt there is generally a reason why. They’re not paying for something (often their invoices, their workers and their tax). I don’t see why we should be trying to let them limp along into even more trouble.
UAP want to abolish fringe benefits tax. They want to introduce at 20% zonal tax concession for those living rurally, at least 200km from a capital city. Is this from the centre or the fringe of the city? UAP note huffily that this is legal and existed in the 1960s, but I have to say I can see this exploited by remote worker professionals to drop their tax rates, rather than assist regional and rural communities. Also, all populations make some compromises – an equal tax system is surely fairer than this.
Then we have the COVID cooker FREEDOM policies. You can probably recite these by now. No vaccine mandates or passports, no lockdowns, allow alternative medical treatment for COVID (yes this is the Ivermectin policy), abolish the National Cabinet (and I bet he doesn’t want COAG back either), stop social media censoring COVID deniers and antivaxxers (phrased as social media censoring “Australian political debate”). You know the stuff, all the protestor policies that are less relevant now.
Also in terms of FREEDOM, UAP want to exclude former ministers from being lobbyists, and are advocating for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear and freedom of association. In context, this really should read as “remove Section 18C on Racial Vilification” so that freedom of speech is as wide as possible.
Healthcare policies (that don’t involve the right to eat horse paste) are $40 billion in extra hospital funding. Gosh the UAP are amazing at announcing extra things they want to pay for while also wanting lower taxes. You can have one or the other. They also want to raise the old age pension by $180 per fortnight (but no other Centrelink payments). Veterans and spouses should all have access to gold cards and service pensions should be linked to total average earnings.
Finally, in terms of defence, the UAP dislike the French submarine deal and are calling the abandonment of the deal a triumph for their policy. They want nuclear subs for protection.
Is this party trying to kill me?
The COVID denial and promotion of dangerous cures is the issue here.
Is this party trying to harm me?
UAP want nuclear power and nuclear submarines. They also are really into radical interpretations of freedom of speech.
Conclusion:
The UAP are populists whose policies veer sharply around to pick up whatever they think might net them some disaffected voters. There’s a lot of random single policies here that would cost a lot in tax revenue, while the party also demands lower taxes. I think the thing that worries me the most, alongside the known connections to the Convoy to Canberra crowd and other extremists, is the support to allow companies who are bankrupt to keep trading. Bankruptcy exists for a reason and is there to resolve situation where there really is no further way out. Letting companies dig deeper holes and go further into debt doesn’t seem advisable.
Website: https://www.unitedaustraliaparty.org.au/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/unitedausparty
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedAusParty
The United Australia Party are essentially the Clive Palmer Feelings Vehicle. Originally formed 2013, it is not a successor to the UAP of the 1930s and 1940s, which was a conservative Labor-Nationalist breakaway group and provided Menzies’ first prime ministership.
Being the Clive Palmer Feelings Vehicle, its policies tend to swing their focus quite wildly between elections. The most valuable assets they’ve probably provided Australia is Jacqui Lambie and endless billboards to deface. The least valuable assets they’ve provided include their habit of blanket saturation advertising and Clive Palmer.
Policies:
FREEDOM FREEDOM FREEDOM and promises to fix interest rate at a max of 3% for all mortgages for 5 years. That’s the UAP platform right now, from what I absorb via giant billboards and tv ads. Shockingly enough, I’m not supportive of either of these policies (also I’m not convinced they are achievable either). However, I’ve taken a look at the actual policy platform too.
UAP’s housing policy is a maximum 3% interest rates for all mortgages and $30,000 paid on home loans tax deductable each year. This is populist nonsense, a gigantic rort, and probably the most likely policy from any political party to send house prices even more stratospherically high. And of course, there is nothing here for renters – this is just making people who already have house mortgages have their houses accrue more value. I took a quick peek at what is currently being advertised as best interest rates (it’s around 2%), so I’d imagine a bunch of people are already paying around 3%.
Economic policies from UAP include a 15% export licence on iron ore to “repay the national debt” (oooh so why is this ok but a resource super profits tax of 40% isn’t, Palmer?). They want more ore and minerals processing in Australia to value ad before international sale. They are also calling for all superannuation to be invested in Australia: “Just like when John Curtin in World War 2 brought the troops back to save Australia, the United Australia Party will bring back a trillion dollars of Australian super back to Australia, to save Australia”. While this is some great nationalism, it’s considered ethically sound for managed funds to invest internationally. Also in nationalism, they want more support and labelling for Australians to buy Australian made products. UAP also want to build a nuclear power industry here.
In education policies, UAP want to abolish HECS debts. And let me admit, I am down for that, but this is astonishing as the only education policy. Nothing for childcare, primary or secondary education.
In tax policies, rather than increasing tax to fund all these policies, UAP instead want to decrease tax by up to 50% on second jobs (why second jobs? Income is income. This doesn’t make sense, given our tax system doesn’t quarantine payments by WHEN we earn the money; if you change employers during the year, does that then count as a second job for the lower tax rate? I can see all sorts of shenanigans). They want to abolish provisional tax for businesses and allow it to be paid at the end of the year (by my understanding provisional tax payments are intended to smooth the tax burden over the year and to also stop companies going bankrupt with giant tax debts as often). Also in terms of bankruptcy, UAP want businesses to be allowed to “trade out of difficulty”. According to UAP, the government are the main petitioners of bankruptcy and liquidation. To me this sounds like “let businesses run even further into the red, failing to pay their workers”. When a business goes bankrupt there is generally a reason why. They’re not paying for something (often their invoices, their workers and their tax). I don’t see why we should be trying to let them limp along into even more trouble.
UAP want to abolish fringe benefits tax. They want to introduce at 20% zonal tax concession for those living rurally, at least 200km from a capital city. Is this from the centre or the fringe of the city? UAP note huffily that this is legal and existed in the 1960s, but I have to say I can see this exploited by remote worker professionals to drop their tax rates, rather than assist regional and rural communities. Also, all populations make some compromises – an equal tax system is surely fairer than this.
Then we have the COVID cooker FREEDOM policies. You can probably recite these by now. No vaccine mandates or passports, no lockdowns, allow alternative medical treatment for COVID (yes this is the Ivermectin policy), abolish the National Cabinet (and I bet he doesn’t want COAG back either), stop social media censoring COVID deniers and antivaxxers (phrased as social media censoring “Australian political debate”). You know the stuff, all the protestor policies that are less relevant now.
Also in terms of FREEDOM, UAP want to exclude former ministers from being lobbyists, and are advocating for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear and freedom of association. In context, this really should read as “remove Section 18C on Racial Vilification” so that freedom of speech is as wide as possible.
Healthcare policies (that don’t involve the right to eat horse paste) are $40 billion in extra hospital funding. Gosh the UAP are amazing at announcing extra things they want to pay for while also wanting lower taxes. You can have one or the other. They also want to raise the old age pension by $180 per fortnight (but no other Centrelink payments). Veterans and spouses should all have access to gold cards and service pensions should be linked to total average earnings.
Finally, in terms of defence, the UAP dislike the French submarine deal and are calling the abandonment of the deal a triumph for their policy. They want nuclear subs for protection.
Is this party trying to kill me?
The COVID denial and promotion of dangerous cures is the issue here.
Is this party trying to harm me?
UAP want nuclear power and nuclear submarines. They also are really into radical interpretations of freedom of speech.
Conclusion:
The UAP are populists whose policies veer sharply around to pick up whatever they think might net them some disaffected voters. There’s a lot of random single policies here that would cost a lot in tax revenue, while the party also demands lower taxes. I think the thing that worries me the most, alongside the known connections to the Convoy to Canberra crowd and other extremists, is the support to allow companies who are bankrupt to keep trading. Bankruptcy exists for a reason and is there to resolve situation where there really is no further way out. Letting companies dig deeper holes and go further into debt doesn’t seem advisable.