UAP Senate hopeful refuses to disclose past

Clive Palmer’s key Senate hopeful Christine Bernier is refusing to disclose her past.

The full identity and background of a candidate Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party has put forward to contest next month’s election remains a mystery, with the candidate ­refusing to disclose her employment history.

The second candidate on UAP’s NSW Senate ticket, Christine Bernier, hung up on The Weekend Australian when asked questions about her previous work history and experience.

Unlike other UAP candidates, the party’s website does not even carry a photograph of her.

The website states Ms Bernier “has lived and worked in Sydney for most of her life as an accountant”. When pressed for her past employment history, Ms Bernier said “Brisbane”, before saying she did not have time to speak and hung up.

The UAP website says Ms ­Bernier worked as an accountant “in many areas of business, including manufacturing, warehousing, ­retail, farming, transport and ­taxation”.

Ms Bernier’s name does not appear in the corporate regulator’s database, suggesting she has not registered or been a ­director of an Australian ­company.

The Weekend Australian was also unable to find any details of her past, aside from a vague statement on the UAP website, which says Ms Bernier has “also worked in sales and investments” and had “volunteered with Mission Australia teaching English to ­migrants and as a branch treasurer with the CWA”.

It was not clear what CWA ­referred to, but the most prominent Australian entity with that name is the Country Women’s Association. The association’s NSW president Annette Turner said she had never heard of Ms Bernier, but there were “400 branches across NSW”.

Other than to say “Brisbane”, Ms Bernier repeatedly declined to comment yesterday when asked for the names of the companies she had worked for, or provide any further information.

Ms Bernier is the second of three NSW Senate candidates UAP has put forward.

First on the ticket is current senator Brian Burston, who was elected to federal parliament in 2016.

Ms Bernier is the only one of the 22 UAP Senate candidates whose photo does not appear on the UAP site, aside from the party’s No 1 choice for senator in the Northern Territory, Michael Wolf.

There is no information about Mr Wolf under “bio” on the group’s website.

Aside from Mr Palmer, WA UAP Senate candidate James McDonald is considered one of the most likely UAP candidates to be elected. Before becoming UAP’s national director in February last year, Mr McDonald had worked for Mr Palmer for several years.