Clive Palmer announces return to politics with United Australia Party
A MONTH after denying a political comeback, Clive Palmer has announced he will field candidates at the next federal election.
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CLIVE Palmer has announced an official return to politics, confirming his party will field candidates at the next federal election.
The move comes a month after the controversial entrepreneur and former member for Fairfax denied a political comeback.
In a statement today Mr Palmer said members of his party would contest federal seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
He also announced the Palmer United Party would revert to its original name the United Australia Party.
The UAP is a revival of a political party from the 1930s-40s led by prime ministers Joe Lyons and Robert Menzies.
“The United Australia Party was established at a time when the nation needed stability early last century,” Mr Palmer said in a statement.
“All Australians are tired of our current crop of politicians. It is time to unite the country for stronger economic growth that can restore prosperity to all our citizens.”
Mr Palmer briefly used the name in Queensland, but switched to Palmer United Party in 2013 after difficulties registering the UAP name at the federal level.
Mr Palmer has toyed with the idea of a return to politics, confirming in February that his party would contest the next election, before a spokesman refuted claims last month when yellow “Make Australia great” billboards began appearing around the country featuring Mr Palmer’s image.
“It’s not a political campaign and has nothing to do with politics,” the spokesman said at the time.
“He’s just very patriotic and loves his country.”
Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath described Mr Palmer’s bid to re-enter politics as “absolutely extraordinary”.
When asked her view, Ms D’Ath said: “It’s not about what I think, it’s about the people of Queensland.
“I think they would be scratching their head wondering why he is focussing on politics again and not making sure that those people who worked for him in north Queensland are getting all of their entitlements that they deserved.
“I think the public will judge at the next election what they think of this idea.”
Today’s announcement came as Mr Palmer ramped up his feud over the collapse of Queensland Nickel, orchestrating a letterbox drop calling for the banking royal commission to include liquidators.
A glossy double-sided pamphlet in Mr Palmer’s trademark bright yellow was stuffed into scores of Brisbane letterboxes last week urging people to “take action and demand that the royal commission into banking extends to liquidators and administrators”.
“Liquidators and administrators have been acting unjustly for years, it’s time that Australians were defended against this industry,” the leaflet quotes Mr Palmer as saying.
“These people need to bear the consequences of their heartless activities.”
Mr Palmer is being pursued in court by two sets of liquidators, seeking to claw back hundreds of millions of dollars owed to creditors in the wake of the collapse of Queensland Nickel, which abruptly closed in early 2016, leaving 800 people out of work.
The Federal Government intervened under the Fair Entitlement Guarantee to pay $64 million of the $74 million owed to staff but other corporate creditors are still chasing more than $141 million in outstanding payments.
In the pamphlet Mr Palmer launches a scathing attack on the administrators of Queensland Nickel, claiming his nephew Clive Mensink, who was the sole-registered director of the refinery when it collapsed, was a “hero” who tried to keep the refinery open but was blocked by the administrators.
But The Courier-Mail has obtained a letter sent by administrators to creditors disputing the ongoing claims, they say at all times Mr Palmer’s companies were encouraged to take on the refinery employees and continue the operation.
“The reported refusal by (the administrator) was not a refusal to transfer employees rather a refusal to accept an undertaking from Clive Mensink, now a known fugitive, that the Joint Venture parties would pay the liabilities of the company…” the letter says.
“Relevantly, Mr Mensink later gave evidence in court confirming the Joint Venture parties did not intend to pay the company’s liabilities, as recorded in the transcript of proceedings held on 20 April 2016.”
The letterbox drop comes a fortnight after liquidators won a legal battle to freeze more than half a billion dollars of the former politician’s personal and commercial assets.
A spokesman for the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services said Mr Palmer had not approached the minister in relation to extending the inquiry.
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