Clive Palmer has launched his election campaign under his rebranded United Australia Party at an extraordinary press conference at Parliament House, which was cut short when the courtyard's sprinkler system suddenly turned on.
Senator Brian Burston has joined Mr Palmer's party and will become its first sitting representative, just a week after quitting One Nation and just hours after telling the Senate he would sit as an independent.
Senator Burston claimed he only decided to join the group at "around 10.30 this morning".
Mr Palmer said he would not run in the Senate himself but may attempt to win a seat in the Lower House, as he did in 2013. The party is hoping to contest the next federal election with candidates in every seat.
Mr Palmer said Brian Burston had shown courage by standing by his promise to support the government's company tax cuts, despite One Nation declaring its opposition.
The Palmer United Party and United Australia Party
The Palmer United Party won one Lower House seat and three Senate seats in the 2013 federal election, which gave the party substantial power on the crossbench. It added another Senate seat in WA following a recount.
But the party later disintegrated, with some original members like Jacqui Lambie going on to form independent political movements.
The party no longer has any elected members, and Clive Palmer did not contest the last federal election in 2016.
Clive Palmer has long promised a second tilt at federal politics, with large billboards in Sydney and Melbourne bearing the slogan “Make Australia Great”.
