Clive Palmer spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads condemning Asic
Mining billionaire Clive Palmer has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on newspaper ads attacking the Australian Securities and Investments Commission which is prosecuting him on criminal charges that carry lengthy jail terms.
Data compiled by Guardian Australia suggests that between 1 December and 11 February, Palmer took out at least 55 ads in newspapers including the Australian Financial Review, the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian attacking Asic and its outgoing chairman, James Shipton.
This includes at least 23 full-page ads featuring aggressive anti-Asic headlines against a background of the yellow Palmer uses to brand ventures including his political party, Clive Palmer’s United Australia party.
Many of the ads attacked Shipton over $118,000 in tax advice that he received at Asic’s expense. The benefit was investigated by Treasury and Shipton was cleared of any wrongdoing. However, he agreed with the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, that he would step down early and Asic is advertising for a permanent replacement.
Some of the ads described the payment as a “rort” or called Shipton “shifty Shipton”.
Others complained that Asic would not release documents about Shipton under freedom of information, drew links between Shipton and the Chinese government, and called for him to “be removed from his Asic position permanently”.
The AFR ran 23 anti-Asic ads, the highest number among the mastheads Guardian Australia looked at. The SMH ran 15, the Age 12 and the Australian five.
Print advertising can be difficult to value, as it is often heavily discounted, but the Guardian analysis suggests Palmer could have spent up to $1.7m on newspaper ads – a figure he disputes.
Industry sources said a full page in the Age has an advertised rate of $54,400 but can fetch as little as $17,000, and the same size in the SMH has a rack rate of about $70,750 but can cost as little as $18,000.
Palmer paid $14,500 for each fullpage ad in the AFR, one source said.
Another source said a full page in the Australian costs about $60,000, but it was not clear if this was the standard rate or discounted.
The commonwealth director of public prosecutions is prosecuting Palmer in two separate cases that follow investigations by Asic.
In 2018 the DPP charged Palmer and one of his companies, Palmer Leisure Coolum, with criminal breaches of takeover law related to a proposal to buy out investors in timeshare villas at a resort at Coolum, in south-east Queensland, where the billionaire built a model dinosaur collection.
Asic alleges that Palmer Coolum failed to make a takeover bid within two months of announcing one, as required by law. Palmer is accused of “aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring” the breach, an offence that carries a maximum fine of $11,000.
The second set of charges were laid last July. In that case, Palmer is accused of fraud and breach of director’s duties by transferring $10m from his company, Mineralogy, to the benefit of the Palmer United party, as his political party was then called, three weeks before the 2013 federal election.
If convicted, he faces up to five years’ jail on each charge, although the fraud charge can lead to up to 12 years’ jail if there are aggravating circumstances.
Palmer is vigorously fighting both sets of charges. Both cases are due for mention in the Brisbane magistrates court on 11 March.
He did not directly respond when asked by Guardian Australia if his antiAsic advertising campaign was linked to the criminal charges. Nor did he answer questions about what he hoped to accomplish through the campaign or whether it could continue.
However, he disputed the estimate that he could have spent $1.7m on ads. In a text message, he said:
“Your number are over 150% higher than the real amount.
“Advertising reasonable during
COVID
“We just following the Guardian “And their dissatisfaction about Mr Shipton and his failure as Chairman Banking enquiry etc
“And the refusal of asic to release document under DOI about what shipton has done
“Very shifty
“Australia deserves better” A spokesman for both Asic and Shipton declined to comment.