WA Senate election: Tony Abbott accuses Clive Palmer of trying to 'buy seats'



Prime Minister Tony Abbott has accused Clive Palmer of trying to "buy seats"  in the Senate in this Saturday's re-run election in Western Australia.

The Palmer United Party (PUP) has spent a substantial amount of money on advertising in the lead-up to the vote, with some reports it has spent up to 10 times more than the major parties.

PUP is hoping to win a third Senate spot, in addition to the seats it already holds - one each in Queensland and Tasmania.

But Mr Abbott says Mr Palmer cannot be taken seriously.

"I don't believe that the people of Western Australia are going to put seats in the national Parliament up for sale, which is effectively what someone is trying to do," he said.

"He's out there trying to buy seats in the Parliament and that's something I don't think the people of Western Australia will fall for."

Before establishing his own party, Mr Palmer was one of the biggest donors to the federal Liberal Party and the Liberal National Party in Queensland.

PUP's spending spree has prompted calls from the Labor Party and the Greens to rein in election spending.

"I support much greater controls on spending, greater controls on donations," Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said.

"We attempted to make changes last year and indeed, Tony Abbott signed off on those electoral reforms and then walked away from them."

Greens leader Senator Christine Milne has also renewed calls for restrictions on campaign spending.

"That is a concern about whether democracy is for sale and that's something I think that the Parliament needs to look at and consider how you might do that into the future and especially when you see that there is such a conflict of interest in relation to some of the major policy," she told the National Press Club in Canberra.

Mr Palmer, who won the federal seat of Fairfax at the September election, is already set to wield considerable power after the Senate changeover on July 1.

His two PUP Senators - in coalition with Motoring Enthusiasts Party Senator Ricky Muir - will hold crucial balance of power seats in the new Senate.

When Labor and the Greens oppose legislation, the Coalition will be forced to navigate its way through a micro-party crossbench of eight Senators, of which it will need six votes.

Mr Palmer's party won three Senate seats in the initial count of the Upper House results.

But the botched WA recount, ordered because of the knife-edge result in that state, reduced the PUP to two Senators.

The recount of the WA Senate vote was declared invalid after the Electoral Commission discovered that it had lost 1,375 ballot papers.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-01/abbott-accuses-palmer-of-trying-to-buy-wa-...

Palmer is after the Conservative vote which is why the Liberals are spewing.....Another right wing party to challenge King Tony!!!

WA is not Queensland....These types of self serving "personalities" would only ever succeed in Queensland....Clive is on a hiding to no where here in the West!!!

Bread and Butter wrote on Apr 1^st, 2014 at 6:45pm:


Ha.  More hypocrisy.  So....when Clive gave whatever amount to the LNP....that was okay.  Yes?  And he was not the only bloke who gave them money to 'buy votes.'  That was okay too, wasn't it.

Are you seriously trying to tell me that if Rothchild gave the LNP (or the Greens or the LNP or PUP or whatever) a billion to use as a campaign slush fund that they would reject it.

Turn it up.

Crying poor? He announced a $10 million plan to target WA's bikie gangs coupled with more than $50 million for regional health funding across the state. Then there's the strike and rally by teachers. Bill Shorten as education minister cut $1.2 billion out of school funding just before the election, so he risks looking like a bit of hypocrite by addressing that rally.

It is not fact that he has outspent everyone by a factor of ten.  The opening post only goes as far as to say:

Quote:


Un-named, mysterious 'reports.'

Armchair_Politician wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2014 at 7:12am:



I thought he looked and sounded like the union thug he really is to be honest...

I couldnt believe this was someone people would vote in to be a PM....he completely forgot himself and showed his true colours..

you are not allowed to mention the cuts to gonski AP.. shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

cods wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2014 at 9:12am:


Turn it up, and be honest.  That $1.2B was taken out because there were States who had not signed up, and you ought to know it.  It was still there, and was put back in when those States did sign up.