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May 14th, 2013 
Clive Palmer addresses why he rejected Peter Slipper.
Source: The Courier-Mail
BILLIONAIRE miner Clive Palmer said he decided not to accept Peter Slipper’s application to join his political party because he “didn’t like him”.
Mr Palmer, who is in Canberra today “meeting a number of prominent Australians”, said his Palmer’s United Party was obliged to formally consider Mr Slipper’s application to join because to not do so could have left them open to an anti-discrimination case.
But the mining magnate said the party executive, which includes himself, decided overwhelmingly to reject the former speaker’s attempt to represent them at the next election.
“I voted to get rid of Peter Slipper,” Mr Palmer said.
“I didn’t like him.”
Mr Palmer said he believed the attempt for Mr Slipper to join was made to undermine his party.
“What we did with Peter Slipper was to send a message that it doesn’t matter how much you do to undermine us, it doesn’t matter what you do we are going to stand for the things we believe in,” Mr Palmer said.
Mr Slipper resigned from the Liberal National Party to become parliamentary speaker in 2011. He stood down from the role amid controversy over the alleged misuse of cabcharge dockets.
He was also taken to court by his former staffer James Ashby over sexual harassment.
Mr Palmer said his party was able to disapprove Mr Slipper’s application via a subsection in the party’s constitution. He said the constitution was the “same as the Liberal Party’s”.
He said he was willing to go to jail to have his new political party registered ahead of the September 14 federal election.
The billionaire businessman says the Palmer United Party has faced numerous roadblocks in trying to register with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), the most recent on Monday when it refused an application because it had too many members.
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