Clivosaurus : The Politics of Clive Palmer: Quarterly Essay 56 EPUB

In Clivosaurus, Guy Rundle observes Palmer close up, examining his rise to prominence, his beliefs, his deals and his politics - not to mention his poetry. Rundle shows that neither the government nor the media have been able to take Palmers measure.

Who is Clive Palmer, and what does his ascent say about Australias creaking political system?

In Clivosaurus, Guy Rundle observes Palmer close up, examining his rise to prominence, his beliefs, his deals and his politics - not to mention his poetry. Rundle shows that neither the government nor the media have been able to take Palmers measure. Convinced they face a self-interested clown, they have failed to recognise both his tactical flexibility and the consistency of his centre-right politics.

This is a story about the Gold Coast, money in politics, Canberras detached political caste and the meaning of Palmers motley crew. Above all, it is a brilliantly entertaining portrait of the man at the centre of a perfect storm for Australian democracy, a captain steering his vessel artfully in the whirlpool.

In the first half of the year we saw Tony Abbott treated with deference to his values and beliefs, as his chaotic and lying government slid from one side of the ring to the other, while Clive Palmer, ploughing a steady course on a range of key issues, was treated as the inconstant one. No wonder no one could tell what he was going to do next - they werent even bothering to look at where he had come from. Guy Rundle, Clivosaurus

This issue also contains correspondence discussing Quarterly Essay 55, A Rightful Place, from Megan Davis, Rachel Perkins, Celeste Liddle, John Hirst, Henry Reynolds, Peter Sutton, Paul Kelly, Robert Manne, and Fred Chaney.