“I would have thought Clive Palmer would have a full dance card in 2025 re-registering his own party, fighting fraud charges and rebuilding the Titanic,” she said.
“Having said that, there’s no doubt that he and Pauline would make a lovely couple.”
In March, Palmer appealed to the High Court to halt prosecutions for alleged fraud and dishonesty brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The matters are still unresolved.
Monique Ryan said she did not know Clive Palmer was trying to trademark “teal”. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
A spokesperson for One Nation leader Pauline Hanson disputed suggestions the two Queenslanders would merge their parties, despite Palmer’s application to trademark “The Clive and Pauline Party”.
“There’s no risk of a Clive and Pauline Party, so unless there’s another Pauline, there’s no party,” he said.
Independent member for Wentworth Allegra Spender also questioned the legitimacy of Palmer’s application: “Antics like this are exactly why people are fed up with politics as usual.”
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North Sydney MP Kylea Tink said Palmer’s attempt to trademark a colour reveals he does not understand the teal movement.
“This movement is about so much more than a word made up by the media and I expect actions like this will just spur new communities on.”
Trademarking a colour such as teal is possible, says Lisa Egan, an intellectual property partner at law firm Mills Oakley, but for any application to be successful, the phrase needed to be distinctive to whatever good or service it applied to, and it could not be too similar to something already on the register.
IP Australia typically takes about two to three months to determine if something can trademarked, meaning the decision could be known as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calls the next election, which must be held no later than late May.
The authority will also consider any objections.
“The process can be very drawn out,” Egan said.
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