Clive Palmer will promise to build a nuclear reactor in SA, United Australia Party defector claims

Building a nuclear reactor in South Australia will be Clive Palmer’s final pitch to voters on the eve of the Federal Election, a disgruntled former ally and Senate candidate has revealed.

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Building a nuclear reactor in South Australia will be Clive Palmer’s final pitch to voters on the eve of the Federal Election, a man who was selected to represent him has told the Sunday Mail.

The bold project has been revealed by Adrian Cheok, who was selected to run as the second Senate candidate for Palmer’s United Australia Party.

Clive Palmer and his former SA Senate candidate Adrian Cheok, who says the United Australia Party plans to announce a policy to build a nuclear reactor in South Australia during the election campaign. (Artwork)

Professor Cheok has quit the party, in part because he says the mining magnate is not the Donald Trump-like figure he wanted to represent.

The awarded University of Adelaide alumnus, who has specialised in human-computer interfaces, has also told the Sunday Mail:

CANDIDATES elected to parliament who then leave, or breach party rules, have to repay $250,000 as a reimbursement for the costs and expenses of the party.

TRUMP’S chief strategist Steve Bannon and Mr Palmer had a meeting to discuss political tactics.

CEASE and desist notices are used as a tactic to stop party members talking to each other about policy.

PALMER kept asking the professor to get a haircut to match a picture, taken from social media and used on party promotions, from 15 years earlier.

AGREEMENTS were made for him work as chief of staff for the party’s lead candidate, former Adelaide United soccer player Kristian Rees, for three years and then take over the Senate spot.

The party did not deny the claims when contacted by the Sunday Mail but said that Professor Cheok had resigned because he “wasn’t happy” being the number two Senate candidate.

Text message conversations between Clive Palmer and his former candidate Adrian Cheok.

Professor Cheok said the party’s big idea to woo South Australian voters would be something that has never been done in Australia, would require expertise from overseas and would not employ “a single worker from Salisbury”.

“He said to me that ‘one week before the election we are going to announce South Australia is going to have a nuclear reactor’,” he said.

“He said ‘it is going to win us the election in South Australia’. I think everything is related to mining in his mind.”

Professor Cheok said all the local candidates are “really lovely people” but he fears for their chances of being elected in South Australia.

He said the campaign is being run by “a very small, circle of family and friends” including Mr Palmer’s daughter Emily who he said “looked like she was run off her feet”.

“It felt like amateur hour,” Professor Cheok said.

“It was like the fish and chip shop where you get your mum and dad to help out the front, that was the feeling I got.”

A United Australia Party spokesman said: “Mr Cheok wasn’t happy being the number two Senate candidate so he resigned.

“Mr Cheok has been overseas since he was endorsed and has not contributed to the campaign. He was only interested in putting himself first when our party wants to put Australia first.

“We have now endorsed a great South Australian as our number two senate candidate, her name is Kerry Kovacs. Ms Kovacs is a barrister and has been a member of our party since 2013.”

A document seen by the Sunday Mail shows candidates are able to fund their own campaign.

However, if they choose not to they are required to sign a contract that they will repay the party $250,000 if they are elected and then resign from the party, or “do not comply” with the party’s constitution.