Swinging with the King: Palmer lays down markers for the new Senate

Clive Palmer yesterday opened his fun park to the public for free as he meets his pups behind doors

Swinging with the King: Clive Palmer watches Elvis impersonator Dean Vegas at his Fairfax Festival Weekend at the Palmer Coolum resort on the Sunshine Coast

CLIVE Palmer has laid down more markers for what he wants from the Abbott government, as his team of “Pups’’ take stock before grasping the balance-of-power in Australia’s new Senate.

In a weekend-long festival of Clive, the man of the moment urged the Prime Minister to dump his signature paid parental leave scheme, buy American submarines off the shelf and take an axe to the National Broadband Network.

Mr Palmer said the savings would avert the need for welfare and services cuts outlined in the budget, which were yet to pass the Senate. The chamber turns over tomorrow to reflect last September’s election result, giving the Palmer United Party’s three incoming senators and ally Ricky Muir a casting say on legislation opposed by Labor and the Greens.

Incoming PUP senator Jacqui Lambie yesterday reinforced PUP’s opposition to the Medicare co-payment, saying it would still not get her vote if Tony Abbot bowed to pressure to reduce the proposed $7 cost to visit the doctor.

“Times are tough and we cannot afford co-payments. People need to understand that,’’ the Tasmanian senator-elect said, as performer Dean Vegas launched into his Elvis routine at Mr Palmer’s Sunshine Coast resort.

“If you had three of your kids sick, that’s $7 for each child. Take them twice to the doctor that week, there’s $42. That’s two days’ worth of meals.’’

Mr Palmer held open house for voters in his Queensland seat of Fairfax, waiving the hefty entry fees to his collections of replica dinosaurs and classic cars.

But there were limits to his generosity: despite his professed wealth, Mr Palmer baulked at putting on lunch. Coffee was priced at the resort rate of $4.50 a cup.

While the crowd basked in the winter sun and traffic backed up to the highway, it was all business behind doors, where Mr Palmer finalised tactics with his Senate team and met three new defectors to his party from the Northern Territory. No one could say where Mr Muir was.

Arriving late in a golf buggy, Mr Palmer told a public meeting that the national disability insurance scheme had to be extended to cover people over 60. There was nothing wrong with the budget being in the red — the US had racked up only 12 surpluses in the last 50 years, he said — and the government should stop using it as an “excuse to hurt people’’.

Scrapping the PPL, winding back the NBN and buying US subs outright instead of negotiating licensing rights with the Japanese, among others, to build them would make an immediate difference to the bottom line, Mr Palmer said.

Ms Lambie said she hadn’t had a chance to think about her new job. “I’ve been too busy … I am just going to go for it,’’ she told The Australian.