The Federal Government is hopeful of a more amenable Senate after yesterday's re-run election in Western Australia, which appears to have cemented Clive Palmer's control over crucial balance-of-power votes.

With just under 70 per cent of the vote counted, the billionaire businessman's Palmer United Party (PUP) has so far picked up 12.5 per cent of the vote.

That puts PUP's WA candidate Dio Wang in line to enter the Senate when the new Upper House sits on July 1.

The Greens have also secured one seat, returning Scott Ludlum to the Senate, with a swing towards the party of more than 6 per cent.

Their gains have come at the expense of the major parties which have both suffered swings against them of around 5 per cent.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-06/wa-senate-election-result-coalition-hopeful-friendly-upper-housw/5370502

Tony Abbott has declared that his government’s disappointing result in the WA Senate election will only increase his resolve to scrap the carbon and mining taxes.

The Prime Minister has also described the dive in support for the Liberal Party at Saturday’s Senate election re-run as a typical by-election result.

Primary votes for the Liberal and Labor parties have dropped about 5 per cent in the count thus far, while the Greens have picked up a swing of about 6 per cent.

Clive Palmer’s Palmer United Party, which outspent the Liberal Party by nearly 10 to one on television advertising, gained a swing of about 7.5 per cent.

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The rerun will give the Liberals two seats and Labor’s controversial Senate candidate Joe Bullock has won a seat.

The swing to the Greens is expected to see Scott Ludlam retain his seat, with the Palmer United Party, Labor’s Louise Pratt and Liberal Linda Reynolds fighting it out for the fifth and six seats.

The ABC’s election analyst Antony Green has predicted PUP candidate Dio Wang and Ms Reynolds will claim the final two spots. On this result, the government would need to negotiate with Mr Palmer’s party in order to pass its legislation in the Senate.

Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, where the government is negotiating a free trade agreement, Mr Abbott said there was nothing in Saturday’s vote “to suggest that the voters have suddenly decided they love the carbon or mining tax.”

Asked if he would move for a double dissolution on the carbon tax, Mr Abbott said he expected the new Senate from July 1 to respect the government’s mandate.

“This government is absolutely committed to eliminating the carbon tax and the mining tax,” he said.

“If there was one thing that we took to the Australian people above all else, it was scrapping the carbon tax.

“Sure, we said we’d stop the boats, we said we’d get the budget under control, we said we’d build the roads of the 21st century but front and centre was the elimination of the carbon tax and I certainly expect the Senate on 1 July to respect the Government’s mandate.

“There was absolutely nothing in this vote yesterday to suggest that the voters have suddenly decided they love the carbon or mining tax.”

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/western-australia-senate-election-result-will-harden-resolve-on-carbon-tax-abbott-20140406-366dh.html#ixzz2y4jIOZnH

 

Palmer’s spent half a million on ads. And for those who don’t watch ads, he’s spent weeks playing the buffoon, earning him more coverage than any other party running on Saturday, write Myriam Robin and Ania Dutka.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to the antics of billionaire mogul Clive Palmer. One is that he’s a ludicrous buffoon. The other sees a method to his madness.

After investigating his profile in the weeks leading up to the second Western Australian Senate election in seven months, Crikey is inclined to believe the latter.

http://www.crikey.com.au/2014/04/04/clown-prince-how-clive-palmer-bought-himself-a-wa-media-frenzy/

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The "clown prince" as Crikey calls Palmer is a dangerous sod. He uses the debonaire attitude of a "fat jovial average joker that people love" to express some ludicrous ideas — like that that reducing nature's carbon emission before reducing human carbon emissions. That is silly beyond words and this is part of his con trick in which people feel comfortable with the "joviality" and the presented "common sense" — in which there is ZERO common sense, but because he expresses it with "candour" it seems kosher. Palmer may believe in what he says, but that's what makes him dangerous... He talks shit as if he was serving a gourmet meal of foie gras. 

 

Federal MP Clive Palmer is being sued by a former candidate of his Palmer United Party (PUP) for $4.6 million.

Bill Schoch has lodged a Supreme Court claim alleging an employment contract with Mr Palmer, who is now the Member for Fairfax, was "misleading and deceptive".

Mr Schoch unsuccessfully stood as a PUP candidate in the seat of Fisher on Queensland's Sunshine Coast at the last federal election.

He was also the former manager of Palmer Coolum Resort.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-08/ex-pup-candidate-sues-clive-palmer-for-46m/5374548

See the ludicrous views of Clive Palmer on "nature"... at top...

Apparently, according to Clive Palmer, our pesky neighbours, the neolithic-zealanderers, have imposed a fart tax on sheep... I have no idea where this come from since Clive invents and fabuloses tall tales at every street corners with his own style of interpretations and flags, but it does not make any sense... I believe sheep and cattle (and human) farts are mostly hydrogen which does not have any significant effect on the cooling or warming of this planet. 

But what does have an effect on global warming is belching. Cattle and sheep beeeeeeeeelching exhale a lot of methane. Farts don't. Anyway Clive palmer would not have a clue about the science of global warming and apart from denialism journals I believe he does not want to know.

 

So there.

 

Jacqui Lambie doesn't have a Senate seat yet, but already the former military policewoman from Tasmania has her sights fixed on Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott.

"If he thinks that Pauline Hanson was a pain in the rear end, Tony Abbott better look out," she said. "He hasn't come up against Jacqui Lambie."

 

 

After a short campaign, with little state-wide recognition, Ms Lambie scooped up nearly 5 per cent of the vote for the Palmer United Party, to battle out the preferences cut-up for the last Senate seat against the Liberals' Sally Chandler.

Should Ms Lambie makes it across the line, Mr Abbott and the Coalition can count on a hard time.

The one-time Liberal supporter said from her home in Burnie: "It's far too much of a boys' club in the Liberals."

Earlier today, the Prime Minister-elect said he would be respectful to any new micro party candidates, but warned they needed to respect his government's mandate.

 

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/i-dont-back-down-pups-tasmania-candidate-jacqui-lambie-warns-tony-abbott-20130909-2tfnk.html#ixzz2z0wV2S64

 

First my congratulation to the Senator Elect, Jaqui Lambie from Tassie... It is an honour to serve this country. But it is of course a duty to be informed about many issues of political and human interests...

It appears that from some choice moments on Q&A — the show where knowledge of facts is a poor cousin to rabid emotional impressions — that Jaqui Lambie thinks that scientists are divided 50-50 on global warming. Get stuffed, my little lamb. The proportion is 97 per cent of scientists know that global warming is anthropogenic while 3 per cent of scientists (most of whom have no expertise in the area of climate change) think we can burn the planet down with no effect on climate — mostly because they are at the employ of fossil fuel companies. 

As well, this lady, who prides herself as being less pissy and more balsy than Pauline, is in favour of the (re-)introduction of conpulsory national service in the arms forces for young adults. I though we extinguished this one a long time ago after the Vietnam war lottery. But our little Lambie having apparently spend some 15 years in the army and the police knows a few things or two on this subject of shooting at people. She, of course, had no clue about what it would mean to sell out the farms to the Chinese... This doozy passed the test brilliantly by deferring the question to her "dear leader", Dinopalmer, because she had no idea yet about the whatever of the matter... Does this mean she'll know about it soon.? I believe not...

Boy, do we elect intellectually deficient dudes because they are in column A B C or D on a ballot paper!!!... By the way, if you know a bit of French, you would soon discover that "ballot" means idiot in the common streets of that coq au vin country... I thus don't wonder why the Aussie elections seem to end up with ignoramuses at the head of stuff... ( Niais, idiot, bête, sot, imbécile, maladroit, bêta, homme peu dégourdi, homme lourd ; faire l'idiot, ne pas être sérieux ; homme grossier)

 

Meanwhile, TONY ABBOTT HAS NO MANDATE TO BE A LIAR AND AN IMBECILE EITHER...