Clive Palmer: Vast majority of West Australians want nothing to do with United Australia Party, poll reveals

An overwhelming majority of West Australians want nothing to do with Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party at the Federal election. The billionaire, who on Thursday said he was launching yet more legal action against the WA Government, is determined to try and secure a place in Federal Parliament for his party, but a new poll shows just how unpopular he is in WA. The People’s Voice Poll by Painted Dog Research, carried out exclusively for The West Australian, found 81 per cent of West Aussies have negative feelings towards Mr Palmer and the UAP, compared to just 6 per cent who said they had positive feelings. The other 13 per cent were neutral. The survey of 637 WA residents showed slightly more women than men (83 per cent compared to 80 per cent) had negative feelings towards the eccentric mining magnate. It is the first indication before the upcoming Federal election that Mr Palmer’s efforts to publicise his party might prove popular elsewhere in the country but are unlikely to make an impact in WA. Respondents were asked: “How do you feel about what Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party stands for?” Single and double-income families with no children were most on board with Mr Palmer, with 8 per cent having net positive feelings towards his party and what it stands for. Six per cent of both young families and mature families were also net positive towards Mr Palmer. When it came to salary and how that impacted people’s views, those on the lowest wages were most positive about the UAP. At the other end of the scale, those who earned more than $150,000 a year recorded the highest net negative rating at 87 per cent. Of those who had jobs, only 8 per cent were positive, compared with 80 per cent who had negative feelings. Of those surveyed who were out of work, just 2 per cent had positive feelings towards the UAP and what it stood for compared to 84 per cent who felt the opposite. Young people aged 18-34 were the group with the highest net positive feelings, with 11 per cent net positive compared to 68 per cent net negative. Those aged above 55 had the highest net negative feelings at 89 per cent. Residents in north coastal areas were most positive about the UAP (10 per cent), followed by the western suburbs and north-east metro (7 per cent) The results came as Federal Attorney-General Michaelia Cash issued a fresh warning to Mr Palmer that if he proceeded with his new $50 million legal challenge against WA she had a “record of intervening”. On Thursday Mr Palmer said the claim, the latest in a long line of cases against the WA Government, will be made against Premier Mark McGowan, Attorney-General John Quigley, Solicitor-General Joshua Thomson and State Solicitor Nicholas Egan. But Senator Cash said she would be seeking legal advice on Mr Palmer’s claim. “I haven’t seen the detail … (but) what I can say is that I have a strong record in intervening in the interests of West Australians,” she said.