The new Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop sing the national anthem before the official swearing in of government ministers at the Government House in Canberra September 18, 2013.
Australian billionaire Clive Palmer has been criticised for saying that Prime Minister Tony Abbott should “commit suicide” because of the government’s plan to deregulate university fees. The new Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop sing the national anthem before the official swearing in of government ministers at the Government House in Canberra September 18, 2013. Abbott unveiled his first cabinet on Monday, appointing experienced lawmakers and promising a return to stable government after three years of often tumultuous minority centre-left rule. REUTERS/Andrew Taylor (AUSTRALIA - Tags: POLITICS)

Australian billionaire Clive Palmer has been criticised for saying that Prime Minister Tony Abbott should “commit suicide” because of the government’s plan to deregulate university fees. His statement was in reaction to the education minister’s plan to cut federal subsidies for universities.

According to SMH, the Palmer United Party had rejected the proposal by Education Minister Christopher Pyne that was originally outlined to maintain low prices in a deregulated system. “The answer for Christopher Pyne is no, no and no again,” said Palmer. He added that there are a million students in tertiary education and more going to university.

Palmer later said on Twitter than he meant to say “political suicide” in reference to Mr Abbott. He then apologised for any offence his statement had caused.

Jeff Kennett, the former Victorian premier, slammed Palmer for his suicide remark and said his apology was just “playing with words.” Despite Palmer’s apology, Kennett said talking about political suicide was also considered offensive. He added that seven people die every day in Australia because of suicide. Kennett said Palmer’s comments were “thoughtless.”

Mitch Fifield, Assistant Minister for Social Services, said it was good of Palmer to apologise and suggested that all members of Parliament should consider the language they use in a discussion.

Palmer had previously said the government was painting an overly negative outlook for the country’s economy and education sector. In reference to the Austrade 2015 report, he remarked that the government was more positive about the future of Australia when addressing an international audience, reports ABC.

Meanwhile, the prime minister had expressed last Mar. 4 that he was hoping PUP senator Zhenya Wang can convince his colleagues to support the government’s deregulation plan. However, Wang said he does not support the move to allow universities to charge their own fees. The senator added that he fully supports his party’s stance on higher education.

Since the PUP no longer supports the proposal, the Abbott government will need to convince the other six crossbenchers in the senate. Labour higher education spokesperson Kim Carr said the discussions between the government and crossbenchers were desperate attempts to gain support for the deregulation proposal.

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