Australian Koch
by David Atkins
An Australian billionaire who is perhaps best known for his efforts to build a seaworthy replica of the Titanic says he will use his vast fortune to form a new political party to compete in federal elections scheduled for September.
Clive Palmer had been a major financial supporter of the conservative Liberal-National Party, from which he resigned last year amid quarrels surrounding his political aspirations. He says the newly minted United Australia Party, which he unveiled at a press conference on Friday, will be a serious challenger rather than a vanity project.
“I’m running to be the prime minister of Australia,” he told reporters. “I am standing because I think I can offer better service to the community than anyone else.”
Mr. Palmer is a major player in Australia’s resource-driven economy. He owns considerable mining and other natural resource assets, including a nickel refinery that he purchased from the mining giant BHP Billiton and large coal and iron ore deposits in the states of Queensland and Western Australia.
If there’s any class of individual more harmful to society than the fossil fuel multi-millionaire, I have yet to discover who it might be.
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