After poor results in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania, the PUP founder, Clive Palmer, says party can contribute more in federal parliament

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The Palmer United party (PUP) will no longer run candidates in state elections after its poor results in recent ballots.

Party executives made the announcement on Tuesday.

“The party executive has decided, in consultation with our many thousands of members, that the federal platform is where we can achieve more for Australians moving forward,’’ said the national director, Peter Burke.

The founder of the party, billionaire mine owner Clive Palmer, said he was confident the party would put up strong federal candidates.

“We believe federal parliament is where the Palmer United party can make the most valuable contribution, so that is where we will be focusing our attention in the future,” Palmer said.



The party has failed to secure seats in the Queensland, Victorian and Tasmanian elections since registering in July 2013. It did not run candidates in the New South Wales election in March.

It secured 5.1% of the vote in Queensland, its strongest state, but only 1.95% of the upper house vote in the Victorian election.

Federally Palmer has the only House of Representatives seat, and its voting bloc of three senators has been cut to just one after Jacqui Lambie and Glenn Lazarus quit the party less than 18 months after being elected.

The West Australian Dio Wang is the only remaining Pup Senate representative.

The breakdown of the voting bloc means the government must negotiate on legislation with Lambie and Lazarus individually.