- Clive Palmer opens up about his weight in TV interview
- Billionaire PUP leader nearly sets kitchen ablaze
- 'I know a lot of people who are fat that have got great integrity'
Billionaire Clive Palmer has opened up about his weight, telling an interviewer it does not hurt his feelings when people joke about his obesity.
In this week's Kitchen Cabinet episode, host Annabel Crabb asks the controversial leader whether he is offended by his portrayal as a 'big balloon' in political cartoons.
'Well not at all, because I know a lot of people who are fat that have got great integrity and are people we can all love and have compassion for,' Palmer replied. 'And I wasn't always fat'.
'We all know that physical appearance in the final analysis is not the most important thing in life,' he said.
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Palmer, right, wields thick steaks. Crabb, left, is a vegetarian
Perhaps scarred by a mishap during filming where the mining magnate turned political mastermind nearly sets her on fire, Crabb suggested Palmer was no regular in the kitchen.
'I think he has not been there that often before,' said Crabb, who headed to Palmer's resort at Coolum to be served a salmon steak by the billionaire.
Of course, Palmer - a business owner, the leader of the politically significant Palmer United Party who is difficult to miss in the media - may not have much time to hone his cooking skills.
Not that he would confess it.
'He claimed to have been up all night making the food,' Crabb told Daily Mail Australia. 'I would reserve judgement on that.
MasterChef? Clive escorts Crabb around his Coolum kitchen
Palmer whipped up a gazpacho - a cold vegetarian soup
Candid discussion: Crabb quizzed Palmer, left, about the effect his weight had on his politics
'Far be it from me to insult any hosts of mine, there was an element of professional flair in the [entree] gazpacho [a cold vegetarian soup] that raised my eyebrows slightly.
The interview did touch on weightier subjects.
Palmer himself told the program he saw the role of politicians as involving coming in for 'one or two terms and getting out of there.'
And Crabb said there was a question mark over his longevity in politics. 'I think he's there to make an impression. You can see that in the way he conducts himself everyday.'
This being the man who is building a second Titanic, regularly storms out of televised interviews and, just yesterday, flayed multiple journalists during a press club question and answer session.
And while much could happen to his political position in the coming months and years, Crabb neatly captured his way of doing things.
Palmer stormed out of a Lateline interview with Emma Alberici in late November
Palmer is pictured here untangling himself from his TV cords
'You're a public figure Mr Palmer - the public has a right to know,' anchor Emma Alberici said
'In the mean time, I think he's certainly embracing the "I'm here for a good time, not a long time approach,"' she said.
In the cooking showdown, Palmer also reveals his sense of paranoia about people's loyalty, Crabb said.
'It's a really unusually high degree of anxiety and paranoia,' she explained to Daily Mail Australia.
'He told us that he doesn't allow his staff to even be on the Parliament House mainframe of computers because he doesn't want to spied on.'
'That's a pretty unusual degree of protectiveness against surveillance. And that's really interesting because it dictates how he deals with people and the government.'
Indeed, Palmer is often spotted holding meetings around Canberra at various restaurants and bars.
On Sunday evening, he held a rendezvous with his estranged former Palmer United Party colleague Jacqui Lambie at Canberra's plush Hotel Hotel.
In an address at the National Press Club on Monday, Palmer said Lambie - a 'free and independent woman' - would continue to vote with the Palmer United Party on most issues.
It wasn't because of anything he cooked.
This week's episode of Kitchen Cabinet will be broadcast at 8pm AEDT on ABC1.
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