Clive Palmer has arrived for his first day in the national parliament with the wealthy mining magnate sniping at suggestions he’s a bully and declaring he will be a full-time politician.
Palmer says he’ll put his business interests aside to represent voters after his surprise win in the Queensland seat of Fairfax, making him the lone Palmer United Party member in parliament’s lower house.
But the billionaire hasn’t promised to attend every sitting parliament for the next three years.
“I’m not going to commit to sit in a box and do nothing,” Palmer told reporters as he arrived for his first day of parliament on Tuesday.
“Six months of the year virtually, members of parliament get elected to represent their community but they live in Canberra.
“No wonder they’re devoid of any ides.”
Palmer, however, says he’ll commit all of his time to being a member of parliament.
“I’m full-time. Fully retired from business, one hundred per cent politician. That’s all I’m doing. Nothing else.”
Palmer’s party could end up with three senators in the upper house come next July, giving him a share of the balance of power and the ability to block or support government legislation in the Senate.
Palmer rejected reports from a former bodyguard that he was a “tyrannical bully”, but admitted he can use colourful language at times.
He said the staff member quoted in The Australian newspaper was a lowly paid security guard who worked at his Queensland resort, and who had only be used as a bodyguard once.
Palmer said he would not comment on individual employees, but said he was not a tyrannical bully.
“Of course we’re not,” he said, adding every company had disgruntled employees.
“They’re not real stories. I swear all the time. But you have to ask yourself as a journalist, does that warrant a front page story?”
Palmer said he would not sell his business interests, nor put them in a blind trust.
He also played down potential conflicts of interest when he votes in parliament, particularly on major issues such as the government’s plans to abolish the carbon tax and the profits tax on iron ore and coal mines.
However, he said he would abstain from voting on the carbon tax repeal bills, to keep his position secret from the government until the laws face a vote in the Senate.
“In reality, there is no conflict of interest for any Australian,” he said, adding the constitution allowed people from all walks of life to be elected to parliament.
“If you own a house or if you are building a house, would you have a conflict of interest if they are discussing construction? Of course you haven’t. Parliament is not about making an executive decision. Parliament is about putting an idea up there and having people to debate it and hopefully getting it through.”
