Jacqui Lambie denies Clive Palmer claim she 'infiltrated' Palmer United Party with plan to 'blow it up'
Senator Jacqui Lambie has defended herself against allegations by Clive Palmer that she "infiltrated" his fledgling political party in order to "blow it up".
The Palmer United Party (PUP) leader said the outspoken Tasmanian was planted by someone powerful and ordered to "act irrationally".
"When you start a new party like our party the established parties and others try to wreck it," Mr Palmer told the ABC's AM program.
"She's been sent in there by someone to cause trouble and I think that's the reality of it," he said.
"You've only got to look at what happened to all the other parties, the tactics that were used to discredit them ... and there's no reason to think that wouldn't happen to our party."
The bizarre allegation is just the latest in an increasingly nasty public spat between the pair that is almost certain to see Senator Lambie leave the PUP this week to sit as an independent.
Mr Palmer accused Senator Lambie of plotting to defect to the Australian Defence Veterans Party since the start of this year.
He also claimed there were "questions" about her use of disability support payments.
"Was she receiving disability payments from the Commonwealth for being unable to work while receiving a full-time salary at the same time from the Palmer United Party?" he wrote in a statement.
Senator Lambie has denied ever receiving such payments.
Mr Palmer said Senator Lambie "doesn't want to resign, she wants to stay as long as she can to grab as many headlines as she can".
Asked why he would not sack her from his party, Mr Palmer said: "She's not employed by our party."
"We've got a team investigating her ... we want to get to the bottom of this."
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said if the allegations were true that Senator Lambie was planted in the PUP, the Liberals were not the party behind the move.
"I'm not going to get myself into the middle of the Palmer United Party matters, that's a matter for them," Mr Cormann said.
"You know, she's most certainly not a plant on behalf of the Liberal Party."
Lambie labels allegations 'a distraction'
Speaking at Canberra Airport on Sunday night Senator Lambie denied Mr Palmer's accusations.
"It's a distraction," she told reporters.
"Today I'm certainly a member of the Palmer United Party ... yes, you know, tomorrow's a new beginning."
Senator Lambie is waiting for advice from a well-known Tasmanian poppy grower and her lawyers before announcing her split from the party.
"When you have somebody very powerful who has a lot of money you have to cover all your bases and make sure if they're going to come at you for whatever reason you have everything covered," she said.
If Senator Lambie were to become an independent it could make it harder for the Government to pass legislation.
Liberal Senate Leader Eric Abetz is still negotiating with the PUP senators as a block.
"We have to await any announcement she might make," Mr Abetz said.
"If one of them should ask to be treated separately from that block of Palmer United senators then of course we will accommodate that request."
PUP tensions overshadow parliament's final sitting
The ongoing saga is overshadowing the start of Federal Parliament's final sitting fortnight of the year.
This week the Senate will debate the Government's counter-terrorism legislation and its plans to deregulate university student fees.
"The uncertainty [in the Senate] is making it difficult for students to plan," Belinda Robinson from Universities Australia said.
"Those students who are intending to go to university next year ... with a couple of exceptions have absolutely no idea what the arrangements are going to be, what the fees will be in 2016."
Universities Australia is urging crossbench senators to ignore the PUP chaos and pass the Government's bill with major amendments.
The Opposition said the Government has introduced more than 100 bills that have not passed the Senate since the last election.
