Palmer: I want to be PM

NAME GAMES: Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer.    Source: The Courier-Mail

A FLEDGLING political party may have scuttled the hopes of Queensland's richest man Clive Palmer of creating an alternative political outfit under the name "United Australia Party".

Mr Palmer told ABC TV on Thursday he was re-forming the United Australia Party (UAP), which was dissolved in 1945, and had applied for registration in Queensland.

"I definitely will be (personally) standing for federal parliament," he confirmed, without revealing which seat.

"I definitely will be running in a seat in Queensland, but it would be presumptuous of me (to say which one).

"Like any political party, it's got to have its own preselections. By the end of next week we'll be announcing some of our candidates for federal parliament."

Mr Palmer has promised to crush an attempt by the "Uniting Australia Party" to register with the Australian Electoral Commission and has until May 24 to dispute its claim to the similar-sounding name.

But his fury is unlikely to move the Australian Electoral Commission, given that his own party is yet to appear on the register of parties.

Mr Palmer last night announced he had formed his United Australia Party with a constitution and had applied for the party to be registered in Queensland with the intention of contesting the next federal election.

Mr Palmer - whose nephew Blair Brewster last year trademarked the United Australia Party - says he will "absolutely" lodge an objection on the basis of the similarity between the two names, despite only learning of the new party on Wednesday when contacted by The Courier-Mail.

"They can't do that because we've got the trademark for the United Australia Party and we'll object to it," he said.

But the trademark may not be enough to convince the AEC to reject the name, which would leave Mr Palmer until only May 13 to lodge an application for a new name for the September Federal election.

Mr Palmer's proposed United Australia Party does not appear on the AEC's Current Register of Political Parties.

Meanwhile, the Uniting Australia Party, registered by Daniel Watt of Daisy Hill and nine other party members, lists preventing the sale of farming land to "non-nationals" as its top priority.

It also aims to "stop the lifelong perks of ex-prime ministers and MPs".

Secretary John Smith said the party had already amassed 700 members and planned to enter four candidates in the Queensland senate race, and candidates were being sought for a possible push for Lower House seats.

Mr Smith, who said the party had "nothing to do with Clive Palmer", said he was confident the billionaire's objection would not be upheld by the AEC.

"There's no stoush over the name as far as the electoral commission is concerned," he said.

"There was a worry if he had registered it with the AEC, then we probably wouldn't have been able to use it. But he's not a registered party."

Prior to the state election, Bob Katter was forced to drop "The Australian Party" as an abbreviation for his party as it sounded too similar to other names bearing the word "Australian".

An AEC spokesman declined to comment on the dispute.

With AAP

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