Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer has denied tempting fate as he revealed plans to run against Wayne Swan for federal parliament on the same day he announced a deal to build a replica of the doomed Titanic.

The controversial billionaire - who has a record of backtracking after high-profile announcements - revealed the plans in two separate press conferences in Brisbane today.

Who is Clive Palmer? Born in Melbourne on March 26, 1954

Born in Melbourne on March 26, 1954 Lives on the Gold Coast with wife Anna and his three children

Lives on the Gold Coast with wife Anna and his three children Owns mining companies Mineralogy, Waratah Coal and Qld Nickel

Owns mining companies Mineralogy, Waratah Coal and Qld Nickel Queensland's richest man with estimated personal wealth between $3 billion and $6 billion

Queensland's richest man with estimated personal wealth between $3 billion and $6 billion Life member of the National Party

Life member of the National Party Adjunct professor of business at Deakin University 2002-06

Adjunct professor of business at Deakin University 2002-06 Owned A-League team Gold Coast United 2008-12

Owned A-League team Gold Coast United 2008-12 Named a National Living Treasure in 2012

Mr Palmer said he had put in an expression of interest to stand for Queensland's Liberal National Party (LNP) in the Brisbane seat of Lilley at the next election.

He denied the move was a stunt, declaring it "a factual reality".

"I have done this because the Treasurer and myself both have clear different visions of where this country should go," he said.

"I believe we should be getting bigger and stronger, creating more wealth for our people, so that we have more money to distribute to the things that need to be done in this country.

"He believes in a redistribution of wealth and making the economy smaller."

The billionaire miner, a major donor to the LNP, says he has campaigned in Lilley for many years and knows the seat well.

He tried for pre-selection in the seat of Fischer in 1984 but was narrowly defeated by under-fire Speaker Peter Slipper.

"We live in a democratic society, and I intend in exercising my democratic rights to put my views against the Treasurer in his home seat of Lilley [to the test]," Mr Palmer said.

"He has been the sitting member for far too long.

"It's about time we got this country moving again. So, Mr Swan, we're looking forward to an interesting campaign in the days ahead and I'm sure that Australia will be better for it."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 5 minutes 39 seconds 5 m Wayne Swan responds to Palmer's challenge

'Wholly owned subsidiary'

Speaking to reporters in Canberra, Mr Swan said he relished the chance to stand against the billionaire.

"I think it is pretty much official today that the Liberal Party, particularly in my home state, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Mr Palmer," he said.

"Mr Palmer will use his very considerable resources, and has used his very considerable resources to capture the Liberal Party of Queensland, and he now intends to use them if he's pre-selected, in contest between myself and Mr Palmer.

"I relish the prospect of that contest. I care deeply about ideas and what sort of country we want to be, what sort of country we want to hand to our children and grandchildren."

The Treasurer accused Mr Palmer and other opponents of the mining tax of short-changing Australian workers and small businesses.

"I pointed to the growing power of vested interests in my Monthly article earlier this year and how certain individuals with deep pockets can not only distort public policy debates but also public policy outcomes," he said.

"At the same time, we've seen Mr Palmer and the Liberal Party fight tooth and nail to stop Australians sharing in the benefits of the mining boom.

"I will be absolutely thrilled to fight for the tens of thousands of small businesses, not just in Lilley, but right across this country, for the thousands of workers, not just in Lilley, but right across this country, who will benefit and share in the bounty of the mining boom through policies of this government."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott addressed the media in Perth this afternoon and said he was "as surprised as everyone else" by Mr Palmer's announcement to run for Lilley.

But he says like every other potential candidate Mr Palmer will have to pass the pre-selection process.

"Clive Palmer, like millions and millions of other Australians, is desperate to see a bad Government gone," he said.

"But like everyone else who wants to run for the LNP I'm afraid he's got to run the gauntlet of a very testing pre-selection process.

"The right candidate for seats in Queensland that have traditionally been Labor seats is someone who is going to do the hard yards , knocking on doors, being in shopping centres, talking to local newspapers. We need a grass roots candidate and I'm confident that that's what we will be delivering."

Former Queensland Labor premier Peter Beattie said Mr Palmer could win the seat.

"Queensland politics is so bizarre - you can't rule anything out in the current climate," he said.

"Clive Palmer? May even be the prime minister."

But Federal Labor frontbencher Tony Burke says he does not know why Mr Palmer wants to run for parliament.

"I thought he already ran (the Coalition's) environment policy; Clive Palmer's been running Tony Abbott's tax policy, environment policy and mining policy for some time," Mr Burke said.

Titanic ambition

He also said he was revealing details of a deal with a Chinese company to build a replica of the Titanic.

It is 100 years since the original Titanic sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg.

Mr Palmer said he has commissioned state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to build Titanic II with the same dimensions as its predecessor.

"It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic, but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st-century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems," he said.

"We have invited the Chinese navy to escort Titanic II on its maiden voyage to New York."

Mr Palmer says if all goes to plan with his ship, the maiden voyage will take place in late 2016.

But he is not expecting his ship will sink.

"Well, of course it will sink if you put a hole in it, but it's not going to be designed with a hole in it," he said.

But he added: "You never know what will happen."

High profile

Today's announcements were just the latest in a string of high-profile announcements by Mr Palmer.

As his Gold Coast United soccer team teetered on the brink of losing its A-League licence in February, Mr Palmer ignited a war of words with FFA boss Frank Lowy when he said: "I don't even like the game. I think it's a hopeless game. Rugby league's a much better game."

In March, he accused the US government of funding greens activists via the CIA to undermine Australia's coal mining sector.

He later claimed the assertion had been a smokescreen designed to aid Campbell Newman's Queensland election.