Mining magnate Clive Palmer is spending part of his fortune on what will be a difficult political comeback.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The figures do not account for Mr Palmer's massive"Make Australia Great"billboard campaign or unsolicited text messages to 5.4 million Australians,which have left many frustrated and prompted thousands of formal complaints.
Depending on size and location,billboards cost anywhere between $2000 and $50,000 to rent per month.
Dee Madigan,a marketing expert who has previously worked for Labor,said obtaining millions of phone numbers is relatively"cheap". She said companies were able to compile massive phone number lists by sending out text messages and seeing whether those messages bounced back.
The United Australia Party leader this week launched a political video game and is interviewing candidates he hopes to preselect for lower house and Senate seats.
Jen Sackley,who ran for One Nation in the 2017 Queensland state election,is the only candidate announced so far.
"Clive Palmer should be spending less time making video games and more time focussed on the Queensland Nickel workers who still haven’t received their full entitlements,"Ms O'Toole said on Thursday.
Ebiquity has previously calculated Mr Palmer spent $3 million on television,radio and press advertising during the 2013 federal election campaign - the third highest in the race following Labor and the Liberal Party.
The 2019 federal election would not be the first time Mr Palmer has outspent Labor and the Liberal Party:in the 2014 Western Australian Senate re-run,Mr Palmer bought 788 television commercials - almost half the 1647 slots bought in total - at a cost of $447,000.
Last year's Australian Financial Review Rich List estimated Mr Palmer's wealth had shot to $2.84 billion after a victory in a crucial court case handed back his main source of wealth:royalties from the Sino Iron project in Western Australia.