Origin legend to be announced as new Palmer candidate
Clive Palmer has named a former State of Origin legend as his candidate for a key Queensland seat, with the billionaire also launching his own Senate bid. It comes Queensland Nickel workers learn they’ll have to wait to see Mr Palmer’s promise of entitlements.
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CLIVE Palmer has named a former State of Origin legend as his candidate for a key Queensland seat today, with the billionaire also launching his own Senate bid.
Greg Dowling has been announced as Mr Palmer’s star candidate for Herbert.
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The resurgent billionaire announced the Maroons great as his Herbert candidate for the United Australia Party in Townsville this morning.
The announcements come just days after Mr Palmer said he would pay his former workers their outstanding entitlements, three years after his company collapsed.
But it can also be revealed that Mr Palmer will not pay Queensland Nickel workers any entitlements until at least after the election.
The Courier-Mail had previously revealed Mr Palmer had backed away from his original plan to contest Herbert himself and was widely tipped to run for the Senate.
Mr Dowling is the second Origin player Mr Palmer has announced as a Queensland candidate for his party.
NSW player Glenn Lazarus was the Palmer United Party Queensland Senator for eight months before quitting after a bitter falling out with Mr Palmer.
Mr Palmer said he was honoured to be selected as the party’s lead Senate candidate in Queensland and in a release said he “would be doing his utmost to upset the two party duopoly which had hampered Australia’s progress for so long”.
Mr Palmer said he had originally intended to contest the lower house seat of Herbert until the AEC intervened.
“I moved to Townsville which the AEC refused to acknowledge even though I lived there two weeks of every month.
“I am very happy to step aside for the great man Greg Dowling who is an excellent choice for Herbert due to his strong ties with the local area.”
Mr Palmer will be joined on the United Australia Party Senate ticket by company director and Squadron Leader in the Royal Australian Air Force Reserves, Martin Brewster and advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs Yodie Batzke.
The announcements come just days after Mr Palmer said he would pay his former workers their outstanding entitlements, three years after his company collapsed.
But it can also be revealed that Mr Palmer will not pay Queensland Nickel workers any entitlements until at least after the election.
It will only be a maximum of $7.16 million, as taxpayers have already paid $66.8 million of the unpaid entitlements, which are still subject to ongoing court action.
But in a notice posted last night on the Queensland Nickel website, it was stated a form would be provided to workers on May 7, with payments not to follow for 14 days.
This means there would be no payments until at least three days after the May 18 election.
Mr Palmer repeatedly said he did not owe his former workers, instead blaming the administrators.
Strategists said that, if Mr Palmer personally ran, he could ride into the Senate on the back of his unprecedented advertising campaign.
It will likely be a contest between his United Australia Party, One Nation and the Greens to secure the last two of six Queensland Senate spots.
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