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June 30th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda <!–
Billionaire miner Clive Palmer has angrily lashed out at the Liberal Party’s Federal Council, describing it as a ‘Stalinist operation’. The Party’s supreme policy making body overwhelmingly rejected three motions put to it last night by its Queensland LNP branch, to ban party office holders from working as paid lobbyists or journalists. Mr Palmer says he believes paid lobbyists on the Party’s executive expose the Liberal Party to accusations of favours for positive policy outcomes.
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ELIZABETH JACKSON: Billionaire miner Clive Palmer has angrily lashed out at the Liberal Party’s Federal Council, describing it as a ‘Stalinist operation’.
The Party’s supreme policy making body overwhelmingly rejected three motions put to it last night by its Queensland LNP (Liberal National Party) branch, to ban party office holders from working as paid lobbyists or journalists.
Mr Palmer says he believes paid lobbyists on the Party’s executive expose the Liberal Party to accusations of favours for positive policy outcomes.
The mining magnate didn’t speak to the motion last night. He wasn’t there, because he thought it would be discussed today.
From Melbourne, chief political correspondent, Sabra Lane, reports.
SABRA LANE: With the carbon tax starting tomorrow, the council meeting was shaping up as the final rallying cry against the new impost.
BRIAN LOUGHNANE: From Sunday Labor hangs an anvil around Australian’s necks.
SABRA LANE: But Clive crashed the party, after it overwhelmingly rejected three resolutions from Queensland branch to ban paid lobbyists and journalists from holding office bearer positions within the Party.
Mr Palmer wasn’t at the meeting for the debate, as he believed it would be discussed today. So it was left to Queensland LNP president, Bruce McIver, to prosecute the case for a ban.
BRUCE MCIVER: We had the Fitzgerald Inquiry of some 20-odd years ago, and we’ve only just started to recover from it. We’ve had Labor in Queensland, who also have led us down this path.
SABRA LANE: Senators Arthur Sinodinos and Eric Abetz.
ARTHUR SINODINOS: May I make the point that this – the Liberal Party of 2012 is not the National Party of the 1980s.
BACKBENCHERS: Hear, hear!
(Applause)
ARTHUR SINODINOS: It is not the Labor Party of 2012.
BACKBENCHERS: Hear, hear!
(Applause)
ARTHUR SINODINOS: This is not the way to deal with these ancient quarrels in this place where we are sending a message of unity and hope to the Australian people on the eve of carbon tax weekend. Thank you.
BACKBENCHERS: Hear, hear!
(Applause)
ERIC ABETZ: If we go back to the National Party experience in Queensland, which we were asked to reflect upon, I do not recall that those that actually went to gaol were journalists or lobbyists. They were of a different profession.
SABRA LANE: Mr Abbott and Mr Palmer had a heated discussion about it last week, and last night only the Queensland delegation voted for it.
ALAN STOCKDALE: I declare that motion lost.
SABRA LANE: The Party’s federal president Alan Stockdale.
ALAN STOCKDALE: I want to say that I think it is important that if we have issues within the Party about the Party they should be debated within the Party.
CLIVE PALMER: When you look at this issue it’s sort of like asking the undertaker to be the surgeon; I think there’s a bit of a conflict of interest.
SABRA LANE: Mr Palmer arrived at the meeting, just in time to hear the result.
CLIVE PALMER: The resolutions look more like motherhood: tick this box and everything will be fine and hallelujah. This looks like a Stalinist operation really where everyone gets up and hails the party leader.
And you know when I was a kid at school in grade two and three I wasn’t very good at following the leader. But I could probably always try to learn that and how to kowtow; it’s very difficult for me.
SABRA LANE: He was asked why he thought the council voted against it.
CLIVE PALMER: Self interest. You’ve got to say how many lobbyists are on the executive? That’s what you’ve got to ask yourself. I don’t know. I’m not a lobbyist, I’m not registered. All I am is an ordinary member of the Liberal Party bringing a resolution forward that’s been passed by my state body; that’s all I am.
I wanted to bring a resolution and Mr Abbott took offence to that.
SABRA LANE: Mr Stockdale just appealed to the Party to keep debates like this in house, saying that this kind of public debate could possibly ruin the Coalition’s chances at the next federal election.
CLIVE PALMER: Well Mr Stockdale, of course, is someone who’s done some lobbying for some overseas corporations in Australia, so I could well see that he wants to keep it quiet. But it’s a view on what’s good for this country. My loyalty is first to Australia, second to the Liberal Party. That’s what it boils down to; we’re all Australian citizens, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a member of the Liberal Party or not, you’re entitled to integrity in government.
SABRA LANE: Mr Palmer, the LNP’s biggest donor, says he still hasn’t made up his mind on whether he’ll nominate to be the LNP’s candidate at the next election, to run against the Federal Treasurer.
ELIZABETH JACKSON: Chief political correspondent, Sabra Lane, with that report.
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