Clive Palmer, Campbell Newman put fractious past behind them

Clive Palmer has made up with Campbell Newman, saying he now regrets helping bring him down and handing power to Labor.

Clive Palmer and Campbell Newman have sensationally kissed and made up, six years after the billionaire’s successful campaign to dethrone the then Queensland premier.

It was one of the more acrimonious feuds in recent political history, but it seems Mr Newman has forgiven and forgotten, with the men twice lunching together in the past six months.

Mr Palmer says he now regrets going after Mr Newman at the 2015 election, spending a fortune on ads to remove him from office.

“I regret that,” Mr Palmer said.

“We got (Labor Premier Annastacia) Palaszczuk and that’s been a disaster.”

It's Time .... to say 'Goodbye' Campbell Newman 'Goodbye' @PalmerUtdParty@theqldpremier@LNPQLD#qldvotes

— Clive Palmer (@CliveFPalmer) January 6, 2015

Mr Newman said people could not live life being bitter.

He had reconciled with both Mr Palmer and his fiercest media critic, Alan Jones, since those heady days as premier.

“Clive and I have caught up and I’m always keen to hear his views,’’ he said.

The enmity between Mr Newman and Mr Palmer reached fever pitch when the Newman government refused to grant the billionaire a special rail link running between his Waratah Coal project in the Galilee basin and an east coast port.

With Mr Newman’s deputy Jeff Seeney playing hardball, Mr Palmer unsuccessfully sought a resolution through LNP powerbrokers.

Mr Palmer’s personal wealth has skyrocketed over the past 12 months and the Queenslander is now worth $8.5 billion.

He’s due to take delivery soon of his new superyacht from Italy.

It was on his current yacht, Norma Jean, that he hosted LNP powerbrokers on state election night last year, sparking anger among members.

Clive Palmer

Campbell Newman

It is understood moves are afoot to spill every position on the LNP’s state executive at the July conference.

Mr Newman has also weighed in further on the enmity between the LNP organisational wing and parliamentary party, exposed recently by The Sunday Mail’s War Within series in February.

The former premier said the party’s organisational wing had played a significant role in the political assassination of his predecessor as LNP leader, John-Paul Langbroek, but that it was “not all one-way traffic”.

“But let’s be very clear: Jeff Seeney, Tim Nicholls and Steve Dickson knew all along what was happening,” Mr Newman said.

“They were consulted throughout the process and knew what was going down.

“Tim and I met at a McGregor fete and he asked me if I was ready and I said yes.

“I met ‘Dicko’ (Steve Dickson) at a park near the Glasshouse Mountains and we talked about it and he said ‘go for it’.”