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

=== Assistant: Below is a clear, structured cost table using the maximum-plausible national-party scenario we already calculated: ===
Below is a clear, structured cost table using the maximum-plausible national-party scenario we already calculated:

Total over 30 years ≈ AUD 1.27 billion

I’ve split it into:
* Three decades (10 years each)
* Five-year blocks
* One-year average

: These are averages. Real spending spikes in election years and is lower in non-election years.

==== 📊 Cost Breakdown Table (Maximum Scenario) ====

===== 🟦 Summary Assumptions =====
* 30 years ≈ 10 federal elections
* Campaign cap hit every election
* Full national party operation
* Includes admin, staff, compliance, media, travel, contingency

===== 🟩 Table: Costs by Time Period (AUD) =====

| Time Period       | Elections Covered | Estimated Cost (AUD) |
| ----------------- | ----------------- | -------------------- |
| 30 Years (Total)  | ~10 elections     | 1,270,000,000        |
| 1 Decade (10 yrs) | ~3–4 elections    | 423,000,000          |
| 5 Years           | ~1–2 elections    | 212,000,000          |
| 1 Year (Average)  | —                 | 42,300,000           |

==== 🧮 How these numbers break down internally (per year average) ====

| Cost Type                       | Avg per Year (AUD) |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Election campaigning (averaged) | 30,000,000         |
| Permanent staff & offices       | 10,000,000         |
| Legal, compliance, IT, research | 1,500,000          |
| Travel, events, contingencies   | 800,000            |
| Total per year                  | ≈ 42.3 million     |

==== ⚠️ Important Reality Check ====
* Election years can easily exceed AUD 90–100 million
* Non-election years may drop to AUD 15–20 million
* This table smooths costs to show long-term financial commitment

==== 🔍 If you want next ====

I can:
* Show the same table for an independent candidate
* Split election year vs non-election year
* Convert this to USD / INR
* Add state elections and show how totals explode further

Just tell me which one.