Tony Abbott says Clive Palmer is buying his way back into politics

FORMER Prime Minister Tony Abbott has accused Clive Palmer of buying his way back into politics after “dudding” Queensland workers, as he urged people to ignore his big spending advertising campaign. Mr Palmer has struck back, threatening Mr Abbott with legal action.

FORMER Prime Minister Tony Abbott has accused Clive Palmer of “effectively” buying his way back into politics, as he urged people to ignore his big-spending advertising campaign.

He said Mr Palmer should instead use the money spent on “self-promoting advertising” to repay workers left out of pocket when the Queensland Nickel refinery shut down.

Clive Palmer, the pest that politics doesn’t need

Titanic II: Work recommences on Clive Palmer project despite ongoing court cases

Clive Palmer settles on $12m jawdropping beach house

Mr Palmer, whose company Queensland Nickel went into liquidation owing workers more than $70 million in unpaid entitlements, has consistently denied any wrongdoing or that he owes the workers any money and has instead blamed the administrators.

Mr Abbott took aim at Mr Palmer this morning saying Canberra did not need “spiv politics”.

“That’s what would happen if Clive Palmer effectively bought his way back into politics,” he told 2GB.

“The money that Clive Palmer is once more getting from the Chinese (Citic Pacific) from the iron ore mine in Western Australia, that should be going back to refund the workers of Townsville that he dudded.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott attacked Clive Palmer on radio this morning. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP

“That’s where there money should be going, it shouldn’t be going to self-promoting advertising.

“If you want to see decent politics and not spiv politics, ignore the advertisements that Clive Palmer is running with money that really belongs to the workers of the Nickel refinery who were dudded of there entitlements because this bloke didn’t pay them.”

Mr Palmer struck back, calling for Mr Abbott to retire from politics and threatening him with legal action.

Asked about Mr Abbott’s comment that he should use his money to repay “workers of Townsville he dudded”, Mr Palmer said: “Could you publish that, then we can sue him for defamation”.

“That’s not true, no one was dudded by me,” he told The Courier-Mail.

Clive Palmer has consistently denied that he owes workers money in relation to the collapse of Queensland Nickel. Picture: Dave Hunt/AAP

Mr Palmer, who is currently overseas, said the entitlements went back to the BHP days and that Queensland Nickel’s administrator had refused to transfer staff to his other companies.

Mr Palmer said the money being spent on advertising the United Australia Party was the party’s money, not his.

“Mr Abbott should retire from Parliament. There’s too many former prime ministers in there, we don’t know who is running the place,” he said.

“Our expenditure hasn’t reached the $60 million that he (the Liberal party) spent when he was trying to become prime minister. We won’t be spending that much money.

“Poor Tony can’t raise any money at the moment because people don’t like him.”

The Liberal Party of Australia’s annual return to the Australian Electoral Commission stated the party made payments of $45 million in the 2013-14 financial year, which included the 2013 Federal election. It is not known how much of that was specifically for the election.

Mr Palmer’s comments today come after he previously said Queensland Nickel’s administrator had refused to transfer staff to his other companies and “refused to allow us to fund the business”.

“I don’t owe them any money, that’s the reality,” he told the ABC in May.

“It’s not that I can’t pay people, it’s that I don’t owe people. I am going to make sure that the administrators pay the people for the unconscionable behaviour they did.”

The collapse of his company Queensland Nickel in May 2016 left 800 people out of work and owed $70 million.