Palmer pleads for help
Clive Palmer has refused to hold budget talks with the government unless his Palmer United Party (PUP) is given more parliamentary staff.
Mr Palmer told ABC’s 7.30 program that his party could not sign off on the bills that they didn’t understand unless they had extra staff to interpret them.
• Palmer and Turnbull dine out
“And we can’t vote for something [if] we don’t know what it means. And some of these Acts are 600 pages long and unless we’ve got people to help us we can’t understand what some of the legislation is about,” he said.
The Abbott government will need votes from the PUP, which holds the balance of power in the Senate, if it wants to pass any of its measures.
Mr Palmer has already said that his party will vote against the budget’s key measures, including the $7 GP fee and taxes on high income earners.
“Tough luck to them,” said Mr Palmer referring to the Government.
Relations between Mr Pamer and the government have been frosty this week, with Mr Palmer launching a personal attack on Tony Abbott’s chief of staff.
