The party has its origins in theCountry Alliance, which was founded in 2004 by four ruralVictorians and renamed to theAustralian Country Party (ACP) in 2015.[25][26] In 2020, the ACP changed its name to theAustralian Federation Party (AFP), also known asAusFeds.[27][28] Trumpet of Patriots was formed in 2021 but was unable to achieve AEC registration on its own, and it merged with the Australian Federation Party in 2024.[29]
In February 2025, the billionaireClive Palmer, founder and chairman of theUnited Australia Party (UAP), funded Trumpet of Patriots' campaign by agreement with the TOP federal executive, after he was unable to re-register the UAP for the2025 federal election.[30] Palmer was announced as the TOP's campaign chairman for the campaign (although he was not legally party chairman), while Suellen Wrightson was announced as the party's political leader and unsuccessfully contested the electorate ofHunter.[31]
In September 2025, the AEC ruled that the party constitution of January 2024 was the valid one and the original party executives, including Glenn O'Rourke (chairman and registered officer) controlled Trumpet of Patriots.[33]
On 27 January 2026, the Australian Electoral Commission advertised an application for the name change of Trumpet of Patriots to the former party name of Australian Federation Party[34]
Country Alliance was founded in mid-2004 by four Victorians − Fiona Hilton-Wood, a staffer forindependent MPRussell Savage; Russell Bate, aShire of Mansfield councillor; Russell Pearson, a member of theSporting Shooters Association; and Bob Richardson, a former union official.[35][36] Savage said he had discussions with the party about joining, but ultimately chose to continue sitting as an independent.[37][38]
In February 2014, the Victorian branch ofKatter's Australian Party (KAP) merged with Country Alliance, with the newly-combined party contesting the2014 state election as the Australian Country Alliance (ACA).[47] At the election, the ACA received 1.28% of the vote in the lower house and 0.68% in the upper house statewide.[48]
In 2015, the party announced it would change its name to the Australian Country Party (ACP).[49][50] The change was approved by theVictorian Electoral Commission (VEC) on 21 August 2015, and later approved for federal elections by the AEC on 23 October 2015.[51][52] In response, theVictorian National Party sought to change its name to the "National Country Party" (the name that thefederal National Party used from 1975 until 1982), but its application was rejected by the VEC.[53][54]
In August 2018, the party applied to the AEC to change its name to the Australia Party/Give it Back, but withdrew the application before processing was completed.[55][56] In September 2018, the VEC approved a similar application and the party was registered as the Australian Country Party/Give It Back, although the party applied to revert the change in January 2019.[57][58]
In January 2020, the party changed its name to the Australian Federation Party (AFP).[59][60] One month later on 4 March 2020, Tasmanians 4 Tasmania, a minor party that had contested the2018 Tasmanian state election, was formally renamed to Federation Party Tasmania.[61][62]
At the2022 federal election, the Australian Federation Party received 0.39% of the nationwidelower house vote and 0.22% of theupper house vote.[67] One candidate was referred to the Australian Federal Police after it was discovered he was simultaneously as a candidate forOne Nation. The national director at the time was South Australian perennial candidateMark Aldridge.[68]
Trumpet of Patriots (TOP) was formed on 23 August 2021 by South Australian management consultant Nick Duffield, who served as its inaugural president.[69][70] The party applied for registration with the AEC on 23 December 2021, but the party registration process was suspended on 11 April 2022 after thewrit for the2022 federal election was issued.[71][72]
Because it could not contest the election as a registered party, it entered into an agreement with the Australian Federation Party, with many candidates who had intended to contest for Trumpet of Patriots instead running for the AFP.[73] Following the federal election, the AEC refused the party's request for registration as it did not have 1,500 members required for registration.[71]
On 26 August 2024, the Australian Federation Party applied to change its name federally with theAEC to "Trumpet of Patriots" as part of a merger between the two parties.[10] The name change (an intentional allusion toDonald Trump[74]) was approved by the AEC on 3 December 2024.[7]
At a press conference on 19 February 2025, former federal MPClive Palmer announced that he had joined, and was now Chairman of Trumpet of Patriots (Campaign Chairman not legally Party chairman),[75][76] following theHigh Court ruling that he would be unable to register theUnited Australia Party (UAP) for the2025 federal election after its voluntary de-registration in 2022.[77] Suellen Wrightson, a former UAP candidate, was announced as the party's political leader and "prime ministerial candidate" in theDivision of Hunter.[78] The only sitting UAP representative,Victorian senatorRalph Babet, chose to remain as UAP leader and did not join Trumpet of Patriots.[79]
Trumpet of Patriots failed to pick up any lower house seats in the election, receiving a total of 296,076preference votes (1.91%).[80][81] Wrightson finished a distant sixth in Hunter, polling 3.6%.[82] She congratulated Prime MinisterAnthony Albanese onLabor securing another victory, writing on her X account: "The Australian people have spoken." Subsequently, Wrightson shut down all her social media accounts.[83][84]In the Senate election, the party also failed to secure representation, taking 2.6% of first-preferences.[85]
Several candidates nominated by the Trumpet of Patriots party have come under scrutiny following revelations of past controversies and criminal convictions, sparking questions about the party’s candidate vetting standards.
In theDivision of Reid,New South Wales, the party nominated David Sarikaya, who had claimed to hold adoctorate inpsychology. However, an investigation by the NSWHealth Care Complaints Commission revealed that his doctorate came from an American, online, non-accredited institution called "The American College of Metaphysical Theology (ACMT)". His doctorate was intheology, unrelated to counselling or psychology practice, and the degree certificate was purchased online in 2009 for around $249. The HCCC launched an investigation in 2016 and found that he had been continuously misleading the public for years, posing as a mental health professional without any formal qualifications in psychology or counselling. In 2018, theNew South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal issued an order permanently prohibiting him from providing any paid or voluntary healthcare services. He was also convicted of fraud in Victoria in 1997 and later declared bankrupt.[86]
InQueensland, the party’s candidate for thedivision of Dickson, Michael Norman Jessop, has also attracted attention. Jessop was arrested in July 2024 outside a residence on theSunshine Coast after police were called about suspicious behaviour. Police found camouflage clothing, weapons, rope, tape, a shovel, an axe, and a body bag in his car. Jessop is currently out on bail awaiting trial for serious charges, including stalking and possession of weapons.[87]
Another Queensland candidate, Gabrial Pennicott, who is running in thedivision of Wide Bay, was declared bankrupt and imprisoned in 2011 after being involved in 23 counts offraud.[88]
In the weeks leading up to the 2025 Federal Election, unsolicited text messages were sent out to voters from the Trumpet of Patriots’ lead Senate candidate for Queensland, Harry Fong.[89][90] This caused wide outrage and calls for election reform to outlaw spamming voters,[91] and contributed to the resignation of South Australian Trumpet of Patriots candidateMark Aldridge days before the election.[92]
^Both parties were led and funded by Clive Palmer. While there is no legal succession between the two parties, some[who?] regard Trumpet of Patriots as the successor to the United Australia Party.[8][9]
^abGultasli, Selcuk (20 May 2025)."Dr. Roose: Election Results Were a Rejection of Trumpist-Style Populism in Australia".populismstudies.org. EU: European Center For Populism Studies. Retrieved22 May 2025.He observes that far-right parties, including Pauline Hanson's One Nation and the pro-Trump "Trumpet of Patriots," collectively garnered 10–12% of the vote in some electorates—indicating persistent, if marginalized, populist undercurrents.
Cina, Lousie (30 April 2025)."Palmer's Trumpets boom, but is it just a giant racket?". AU: The Burne. Retrieved22 May 2025.With Palmer at the helm, the Trumpet of Patriots are taking an aggressive, far-right, populist approach to the federal election
Sheftalovich, Zoya (3 May 2025)."How Trump lost conservatives the Australian election". EU: Politico Europe. Retrieved22 May 2025.Amid rising support in the polls for far-right parties including the Trumpet of Patriots and Pauline Hanson's One Nation, […]
Gultasli, Selcuk (20 May 2025)."Dr. Roose: Election Results Were a Rejection of Trumpist-Style Populism in Australia".populismstudies.org. EU: European Center For Populism Studies. Retrieved22 May 2025.He observes that far-right parties, including Pauline Hanson's One Nation and the pro-Trump "Trumpet of Patriots," collectively garnered 10–12% of the vote in some electorates—indicating persistent, if marginalized, populist undercurrents.
2,650[10]
