Former politician and multi-millionaire Clive Palmer has announced his hopes of making a political comeback.
Over the last fortnight billboards featuring an image of Palmer alongside slogans such as ‘Make Australia Great” and “Australians First” have been appearing around the city.
In Beaufort Street in Bedford there are two within less than 100 metres of each other, and large billboards also catch the eyes of commuters on Albany Highway and among Fremantle’s busy cafes.
The appearance of the billboards, that echo the election slogan of US President Donald Trump, prompted speculation that Palmer was either returning to politics or fronting a new reality TV show.
Over the weekend he confirmed he is relaunching de-registered political party Palmer United Party and changing its name to the United Australia Party. The mining Magnate says he will field candidates in every senate and lower house race at the next federal election.
“All Australians are tired of our current crop of politicians,” he said in a statement. “It is time to unite the country for stronger economic growth that can restore prosperity to all our citizens.”
Palmer previously represented the division of Fairfax after winning the 2013 election. He held the record for the politician most absent from the 44th parliament of Australia. He also rarely stepped foot in the electorate he represented.
His party also successfully won three senate seats, but Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie and Queensland’s Glenn Lazarus resigned to sit as independents before the end of the parliamentary term. By the time the 2016 election was held only Western Australian senator Dio Wang remained. Prior to the election Palmer announced his retirement from politics, and Wang failed to gain another term.
Palmer is currently involved in a legal fight with liquidators over his Queensland nickel refinery. The case has seen ta judge order millions of dollars of the magnate’s assets to be frozen.
UPDATE: Former One Nation senator Brian Burton told parliament he would be sitting as an independent following his decision to leave One Nation but this morning he held a media conference with Clive Palmer to announced he had joined the new party.
Senator Burton will now be United Australia’s leader, and sole parliamentarian, in the senate. Senator Burton denied he had mislead parliament when he declared he’d be sitting as an independent.
“No. We were still negotiating right to the last minute,” Senator Burston said insisiting that he’d only decided to join the party thirty minutes before the media conference was held.
OIP Staff
