CONFLICT OF INTERESTS from this nutter. (Only 28% of voters in Fairfax voted for Palmer)
A THWARTED bid to build his own railway in Queensland's Galilee Basin is behind billionaire Clive Palmer's bitter war with Premier Campbell Newman which has descended into name calling and corruption claims.
Senior Government sources yesterday insisted Mr Palmer remains smarting over a decision last year to reject his railway bid in preference for two other alignments promoted by his rivals with mines in the area.
The decision has stranded Mr Palmer's emerging thermal coal mine in western Queensland, potentially costing him millions of dollars in delays and forcing him to negotiate with Indian mining giants GVK and Adani as well as rail operator Aurizon over access.
Sources within meetings at which the original flare-up was ignited, and eventually compelled Mr Palmer to launch his own political party, claim the billionaire at one stage arrived with his own legislation drafted which he wanted the Newman Government to introduce.
The mining magnate's law would have made him owner and operator of the only railway line to service the Galilee Basin, forcing rivals to be customer whose coal would have been exported out of what would have been known as "Palmer's Wharf" at Abbott Point.
``He kept saying he had all these backers and support for it,'' one source said.
``He just wanted it handed to him.''
However, Mr Palmer's corruption allegations centre on claims lobbying by Howard government minister Santo Santoro influenced the decision.
Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie recently wrote to the Crime and Misconduct Commission to urge the watchdog to investigate and compel Mr Palmer to produce any evidence in his possession.
more here http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/rejected-railway-bid-the-reason-clive-palmer-turned-ag...
he makes palmer look some sort of progressive genius. 
