Editing Openai/6943ef1c-da5c-8000-b9e5-a581407e95ea (section)

=== 1. “Start and compete” = operate a serious nationwide political campaign / party that contests federal elections (House of Representatives) repeatedly across 30 years. This is the scenario that produces the maximum plausible legal spending. ===
# Federal elections occur roughly every 3 years → 10 elections in 30 years (approximate).
# I use the proposed/announced national campaign cap level used in recent reform proposals as a reasonable “maximum legal spending per federal campaign” for a major party: AUD 90,000,000 per federal election (national cap). (If future laws change caps up or down, the total scales directly.) Australian Parliament House<ref>{{cite web|title=Australian Parliament House|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2425/25bd036|publisher=Australian Parliament House|access-date=2025-12-19}}</ref>
# I add ongoing administrative/staffing costs in non-election years (head office, state offices, permanent staff, policy teams, legal/compliance, travel). For a major party I estimate AUD 10,000,000 per year outside the main election outlays (this is an estimate to reflect a full national operation; actual major party admin can vary).
# Add smaller items: by-elections, legal/compliance, registration/startup, and a contingency buffer (5%) to cover inflation, unforeseen costs, and extra campaigning between elections.
# For the independent / single electorate scenario I assume the per-electorate cap used in recent reform proposals ($800,000 per electorate campaign cap) and much smaller yearly admin. Australian Parliament House<ref>{{cite web|title=Australian Parliament House|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2425/25bd036|publisher=Australian Parliament House|access-date=2025-12-19}}</ref>