“She went berserk, really”: Clive Palmer on the Jacqui Lambie split

CLIVE Palmer has spoken out against his rogue senator Jacqui Lambie, saying she has got “carried away” with her own desire to be PM. And he also hinted what Lambie’s next move might be.

Lambie Event

CLIVE Palmer has spoken out against his rogue senator Jacqui Lambie, saying she has got “carried away” with her own desire to be PM.

Lambie defied the Palmer United Party last night by crossing the Senate floor to vote down the government’s controversial changes to financial advice laws.

Her defiant stance triggered a swift rebuke from Mr Palmer, with the party leader accusing her of lying in Parliament and plotting to set up her own party.

The attacks kept coming this morning, with Mr Palmer hitting the radio to discredit Senator Lambie.

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Palmer United Party Senator Jacqui Lambie after a press conference on the governments financial advice regulations at Parliament House in Canberra.

He confirmed to Triple M’s Grill Team this morning that Senator Lambie’s split from the PUP was triggered by her strong advocacy for a better pay deal for Australia’s defence forces.

“We haven’t spoken to her for over a month. All I can put it down to is that we refuse to turn our backs on the Australian flag on Remembrance Day, which she wanted us to do, and that we said that we wouldn’t vote against every piece of legislation for the next five and a half years,” he said.

“That’s where we differed and she went berserk on that, really.”

Mr Palmer has not spoken to Senator Lambie for more than a month and he said he had called her as many as 10 times, none of which had she answered.

“All politicians think they’ll be prime minister one day and you can get carried away with it,” Mr Palmer said.

“The way the whole system works is the government proposes legislation and we can amend it.

“We can’t actually tell the government what to do, because they control the lower house … so all we can do is try to negotiate as a team … Jacqui has decided to tell the team that they had to do it her way or the highway.”

MUST CREDIT AFP ADELAIDE ADVERTISER ONLY WIRE: Australian mining billionaire and leader of the Palmer United Party (PUP) Clive Palmer (C) poses with his PUP senators Dio Wang (L), Jacqui Lambie (2nd L) and Glenn Lazarus (R) along with Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party (AMEP) senator Ricky Muir (2nd R) after a press conference where it was announced Muir and Palmer had signed a memorandum of understanding to work together and with intentions for Muir to vote with the Palmer United Party in the Senate, in Sydney on October 10, 2013. Palmer brokered a crucial alliance giving him the balance of power in Australia's new parliament, warning of a "very cold winter" if the government tries to cross him. AFP PHOTO/William WEST

Yesterday, Mr Palmer sacked her as PUP’s deputy leader and suspended her from all party meetings. Senator Lambie’s place in the party is all but over.

Mr Palmer has revealed what Senator Lambie’s next move might be, saying that she plans to set up her own party.
He suggested that she would switch to the Australian Defence Veterans Party, which she advertised on her Facebook page yesterday.

Jacqui Lambie shared a link the Australian Defence Veterans Party on her Facebook page yesterday.

Senator Lambie told reporters this morning that she would consult with the Tasmanian people over the weekend before deciding on her political future.

“Obviously I’ll make a decision from there early next week,” she said this morning in Canberra.

She refused to say whether she was considering forming her own party.

“I just want to do the right thing. I just want to do what I was elected in to do. I just want to stay honest. I want my integrity to stay intact and I just want to get on with the job.”

The Tasmanian senator accused her party leader of trying to intimidate her and interfere with her role in a fiery speech in the Senate yesterday.

She said she would not be told how to vote by anyone and claims her only boss is the people of Tasmania.

The split weakens PUP’s control of the Senate and is likely to make it trickier for the government to push legislation through the upper house.

News.com.au has approached Senator Lambie’s office for comment.

Clive Palmer in the press gallery corridor at Parliament House in Canberra.