Clive Palmer chucks sickie as keynote speaker at Gold Coast small business expo

Failed politician Clive Palmer has cited illness after failing to show up for a keynote speaker engagement on the Gold Coast. However organisers suspect he had an additional reason to stay away.

Brash, self-promoting billionaire with political ambition Clive Palmer.

FAILED politician and comeback billionaire Clive Palmer has called in sick to a keynote speaker engagement on the Gold Coast in the wake of spending $60 million to boost the Liberal election campaign.

Perhaps exhausted from bombarding Australians with text messages and “we will win government” advertising, and worn down after siphoning every drop of yellow paint from sign-writers nationwide, Mr Palmer cancelled his unpaid appearance at the Gold Coast Small Business Expo, citing illness.

Expo organiser Paula Brand was unimpressed.

“I think he’s sulking,” she said, outside the room which had filled with business people in unrequited anticipation of witnessing the mining magnate’s wisdom on small business issues.

“I think he’s disappointed he lost a Federal Election.

Small Business Expo organiser Paula Brand.

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“Wouldn’t you be disappointed after spending $60 million and not winning a seat?

“But at the end of the day, if our business leaders can’t turn up it’s pretty poor form.”

Mr Palmer’s United Australia Party candidates, many of whom declined to say whether or not they’d been paid to stand, won 3.4 per cent of the overall vote but failed to secure a single seat in either house of Parliament.

A woman walking past a billboard of United Australia Party leader Clive Palmer in Melbourne.

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He told ABC Radio his party’s preference deal with the Liberal National Coalition had pushed them to victory and said he’d intentionally used the campaign to block Labor from Government.

“I’m very, very elated that we’ve got a strong government in Australia,” Mr Palmer said.

“We’ve saved the country from ‘Shifty’ (Mr Shorten).”

Clive Palmer in Hobart ahead of the election. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

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As his political rivals wore out their shoes on the campaign trail, the former Member for Fairfax spent the last few days of his campaign holidaying in Fiji with his family.

More than 3600 people registered for this year’s Small Business Expos, with more than 216 exhibitors.

The Bulletin has contacted Mr Palmer for comment.

READ MORE ABOUT THE EXPO IN TOMORROW’S BULLETIN (BECAUSE WE SHOWED UP)