Support grows for change in political spam exemption

It isn't illegal for political parties to spam text voters before an election, but maybe it should be, writes John Turnbull.

IN POST-ELECTION INTERVIEWS, Trumpet of Patriots founder Clive Palmer claims to have spent $60 million on advertising, a considerable proportion of which was allocated to a text message campaign that enraged many and has driven calls for regulatory changes.

Ignoring for a moment that an alleged $60 million bought Mr Palmer precisely zero seats and a paltry 225,000 primary votes for the House of Representatives, the party’s choice to spam Australians with a series of increasingly unhinged text messages may mark a turning point in history.

Comments on X (formerly Twitter) were scathing:

The Twitter (X) reaction to Clive Palmer's text message campaign

Voters were sent an influx of text messages promoting the Trumpet of Patriots Party

It is a widely known industry secret that rules around truth in advertising do not apply to political parties before an election has been officially called.

According to Yee-Fui Ng in The Conversation:

Section 329 of the Electoral Act prohibits the publication of material likely to mislead or deceive an elector in casting their vote.

But in a narrow interpretation by the Electoral Commission, the ban only applies after an election has been called by the prime minister.

Beyond this, however, exists a grey area where parties play with little fear of repercussion — the land of misinformation, misrepresentation, and fearmongering.

Clive Palmer's Trumpets blowing nothing but hot air

Presided over by Mr Malice himself, Clive Palmer, Trumpet of Patriots (T.O.P.) is the bastard child of self-serving compromise.

Australia Institute program director Bill Browne, who heads the think tank's democracy and accountability program, wrote about political advertising:

'At a federal level, it is perfectly legal to lie in a political ad and it shouldn’t be.'

Many media outlets (perhaps seeking that precious youth readership) point out that the Trumpet of Patriots barely secured more votes than the Legalise Cannabis Australia Party, which spent $6,200 on social media ads in the lead up to the election.

The Greens and PHON also scored more votes than Trumpet of Patriots leader Suellen Wrightson in her Hunter Valley electorate, despite (or perhaps because of) her ubiquitous presence on Australian television.

The spam text campaign by Trumpet of Patriots received a lot of pubic backlash

As user FN Antifascist insightfully points out, anyone potentially on the fence about voting for the Trumpet of Patriots would have been firmly pushed off by the endless text barrage from "H Fong" — with the possible exception of comedian and television presenter Sam Pang.

H. Fong (or Spam Pang, as Sam likes to call him) has ghosted Sam since the election.

Has he ghosted everyone, or are you still getting texts from the Trumpet of Patriots?

Catch Sam’s full monologue (with @tomcashman1 helpful insertions) now on 10 Play.#SamPangTonight pic.twitter.com/7LJsIxOhJ4
— Sam Pang Tonight (@sampangtonight) May 5, 2025