Anna Palmer to contest Currumbin seat for United Australia Party at Queensland election
Anna Palmer to contest seat of Currumbin for her husband’s United Australia Party, driven by ‘heartless’ border closures.
Clive Palmer’s wife Anna Palmer will contest the seat of Currumbin for her husband’s United Australia Party in the October 31 Queensland election.
The southern Gold Coast seat is held by the Liberal National Party with a slim 1.2 per cent margin after Laura Gerber defeated Labor’s Kylee Campradt in a by-election in February.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of LNP stalwart Jann Stuckey, who held the seat since 2004.
Ms Palmer, a chartered accountant and lawyer, lives with her husband on the Gold Coast and has worked for his companies, including stints as a director for his flagship mining company Mineralogy.
In a statement, Ms Palmer said her reasons for contesting the election were driven by the closure of Queensland’s borders and a lack of exemptions for families enduring heartache.
“As a mother, I am appalled with how the current Queensland Labor government is treating families,” Ms Palmer said.
“The Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young have shown no compassion or common sense during this pandemic.
“We have seen their true colours in the heartless treatment of Queenslanders, barring family members from hospital visits and attending funerals when there has been no sound medical grounds to do so.
“Meanwhile movie stars and celebrities appear free to move as they please. The double standards being shown by the Queensland Labor government are a disgrace.”
Ms Palmer criticised the Palaszczuk government and said the Labor Party did not have an adequate plan to revive the Queensland economy after the coronavirus pandemic.
“The only way Labor can reduce its debt is by taking from Queensland families,” she said.
“They are out of ideas and have no policies that can deliver growth and a strong economic future for this state.
“Under a returned Labor Government, we will see family assets taken by the state to cover its $120 billion debt blowout.
“We need a new deal for Queensland.”
Several of Mr Palmer’s family members have previously run as candidates for his political party, but none have been successful.
Five of Mr Palmer’s private companies have donated $2.092m to his political party since the end of June, including a $2m donation from Mineralogy.
Mr Palmer represented the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax in federal parliament from 2013 to 2016 for the former Palmer United Party.
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