Federal election 2016: party’s all but over for Clive Palmer

Barely three years after Clive Palmer predicted he would one day be PM, the ­businessman’s party is on the brink of extinction.

Clive Palmer has walked away from politics three years after predicting he would one day be prime minister. Picture: Kym Smith.

Barely three years after Clive Palmer predicted he would one day be prime minister, the ­besieged businessman’s political party is on the brink of extinction.

The self-described billionaire has quit his federal Queensland seat of Fairfax and yesterday ruled out a run for the Senate at the July 2 election, insisting there were ­already some “excellent” Palmer United Party candidates in the state.

But there’s a good chance Mr Palmer’s political empire will crumble alongside his Queensland Nickel refinery, with the force that once held the balance of power in the Senate deteriorating into a one-man party represented by the West Australian senator Zhenya “Dio” Wang.

Dogged by business dealings and court cases, Mr Palmer ­declined to tell The Australian if he would continue to bankroll PUP after previously donating millions of dollars from his businesses into party coffers, including more than $21 million from the defunct Queensland Nickel.

Nearly 800 workers have been sacked from the Townsville nickel refinery since it fell into voluntary administration in January. The business was wound up last month owing $300m, with the federal government and liquidators preparing to launch myriad legal bids to claw back the cash from Mr Palmer’s personal assets and his web of companies.

Corporate watchdog ASIC is investigating claims he acted as a shadow director, breached his ­director’s duties and allowed the company to trade while insolvent.

Mr Palmer has denied all wrongdoing and his exit from politics will allow him to focus on ­vigorously defending the assault on his crumbling business empire.

While he declared a year ago that he would field candidates in all 150 House of Representative seats, yesterday he conceded he would have just one contender — nephew Martin Brewster — ­running in the Townsville seat of Herbert, home to Queensland Nickel and held by Liberal MP Ewen Jones on 6.17 per cent. Mr Jones had one word to say about Mr Palmer’s ­apparent withdrawal from federal politics: “Good!”

At 62, Mr Palmer said he looked forward to games of bowls and having “a bit of fun”.

While several of his Senate candidates claimed their leader was “passing the baton” to them, Mr Palmer retweeted a warning from one of his ­aspirants that it was not the “end” of his political career.

“Guaranteed this will not be the end of Clive Palmer in politics,” Tasmanian PUP candidate Kevin Morgan said. “Stay tuned, who knows what is around the corner?”

Senator Wang wished Mr Palmer “the very best in his future endeavours” but refused to say what his own aspirations were now he was the only remaining PUP sitting member.

He told The Australian this month that he assumed he would automatically become leader of the party if he was the only one left in parliament. “I’ve never considered that scenario because it’s probably down the track,” he said. “WA has always been and remains my focus.”

Mr Palmer’s party quickly lost its power after two of its three ­senators, Jacqui Lambie and Glenn Lazarus, defected within a year of beginning their Senate terms, amid public attacks between them and their leader and alleged bullying.

Mr Palmer won his seat on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast at the 2013 election by 53 votes after a recount, beating LNP candidate Ted O’Brien.