ALP planning early poll to stop me: Palmer CLIVE Palmer says the federal government is planning an early election to stop his new political party in its tracks. The mining magnate turned politician says Labor is in the process of returning to former leader Kevin Rudd and of calling an election earlier than the nominated date of September 14. "We think basically the early election is designed to put us at a disadvantage," Mr Palmer told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday. Mr Palmer, who will run in the Queensland seat of Fairfax, said he wasn't fussed about who led the Labor Party at the election. "I think Australians have had enough of personalities and of politics based on that," he said. Mr Palmer announced former boxing champion Barry Michael and AFL great Doug Hawkins as his leading Victorian Senate candidates on Tuesday. Mr Michael said he was sick of the major parties and wanted to make a change to the nation's political culture. "The major parties are the same - they don't care about us," he said. Mr Hawkins said he had turned to politics because he had seen people struggling to make ends meet in Melbourne's west. "Go Palmer United, and as the great EJ Whitten said, let's stick it up 'em," he said. Mr Hawkins played more than 300 games for Footscray and Fitzroy, while Mr Michael is a former IBF superfeatherweight champion. The Palmer United Party will field candidates in every House of Representatives electorate, Mr Palmer said.