A move to block paid lobbyists joining the Liberal executive has been thwarted at the party’s Federal Council in Melbourne.
The resolution, moved by Queensland Liberal National Party (LNP) president Bruce McIver and championed by billionaire Clive Palmer, enjoyed little support outside the Queensland bloc and was comprehensively voted down.
Two vice presidents of the party, Alexander Downer and Santo Santoro, are lobbyists and would have been forced to step aside had the resolution been adopted.
Mr Palmer recently fell out with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott over his push to bar political lobbyists and remained staunch in his views after the motion was crushed.
“My loyalty is first to Australia, second to the Liberal party,” Mr Palmer told reporters at Melbourne’s Sofitel Hotel.
“The issue is clear. Should somebody be able to take money from someone to peddle political influence and still control a party or be the figurehead of the party in this country?
“I say Australians all have an equal vote and equality before the law.”
Mr McIver told the council the LNP’s decision to pass the resolution meant the former Queensland government had failed to dig dirt on newly elected Premier Campbell Newman in the nasty 2012 campaign.
“If we didn’t have high integrity and accountability standards I wonder if they would’ve found evidence,” he said.
“Queenslanders rewarded us with that high standard in March 2012 and I believe that Australians will reward us as a party if we have these standards and keep them at the next federal election.”
Mr McIver also moved resolutions that would ban lobbyists fundraising for the party and block members of the federal executive being paid for media commentary.
Both also failed.
NSW senator Arthur Sinodinos said the resolutions defied the party’s claim to represent all Australians.
“Lobbyists are Australians, journalists are Australians. If we exclude them, who’s next?,” he said.
Tasmanian senator Eric Abetz also spoke against the resolutions, saying standards of integrity were personal, not professional.
The resolutions were expected to be moved on Saturday, and Mr Palmer had barely arrived at the function centre on Friday night when debate began.
He said he was uncertain if he would now remain for the duration of the council, which he described as a “Stalinist operation”.
“We’ll see what’s happening,” he said.
“Although the resolutions look more like motherhood, tick this box and everything will be fine… this is like a Stalinist operation really where everyone gets up and hails the party leader.”
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