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Fledgling political organisation the Lamington Party has issued a response to the Gillard government’s 2013 budget, calling Treasurer Wayne Swan’s effort “less Robin Hood and more Sheriff of Nottingham” and “probably one of the weirdest budgets you’ll ever see.”

Rugby league legend Glenn Lazarus has been named to lead the Palmer United Party’s Queensland Senate team at the next federal election, claiming that Clive Palmer’s fledgling party could unite and advance Australia through inspirational leadership.

A Northern Territory politician, MP Willem Rudolf Westra van Holthe, has drawn criticism after a social media gaffe in which he described film star Brad Pitt’s claim that his partner Angelina Jolie was “heroic” for undergoing a double mastectomy as “pathetic”.

Labor’s signature national disability care program will get $14.3 billion in new money to ensure it will be fully up and running on time.

View the digital edition of this week’s FREE Australian Times newspaper, available every Tuesday across London.

Clive Palmer’s campaign to reshape the Australian political landscape has faced a number of hurdles over the weekend, with the Queensland billionaire businessman forced to make a change to the party’s name and having the group’s initial application to the Australian Electoral Commission rejected on the basis that the party had ‘too many members’.

The federal budget will chart a path back to surplus while delivering extra spending for schools and disability care, Treasurer Wayne Swan says.

Centre-left political group The Lamington Party has said that it will be a “close shave” in their goal to register with the Australian Electoral Commission before September’s federal election, with the organisation’s leadership hopeful that they will obtain the 500 members necessary to qualify as a registered political party. The party have recently released their policy platform, with a focus on health care, and tackling problem gambling.

The political party formed by billionaire Clive Palmer, The United Australia Party, has voted to reject the application of former Speaker Peter Slipper after the controversial federal MP attempted to register as a party member this week.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard was met with a rowdy reception at Marsden High School in Logan, Queensland yesterday, when students mobbed the Australian leader as she arrived to participate in Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea. Although most students clamoured to take photos on their I-phone, Ms Gillard was also met with some verbal abuse – and a flying Vegemite sandwich.

View the digital edition of this week’s FREE Australian Times newspaper, available every Tuesday across London.

The influx of recently established political parties in the 2013 Australian election season has continued with the formation of the Lamington Party, a fledgling group dedicated to promoting equality, sustainability and innovation.

The Medicare levy will be raised by half a per cent to two per cent to cover part of the cost of the national disability insurance scheme.

Supporters of embattled federal MP Craig Thomson have set up a web page to raise money for his legal bills.

OPINION | The rise of the minor party in Australian politics should not be seen as an unnecessary aberration, or a trivial moment in the country’s democratic development. Instead, it should be seen as an opportunity to reform a stagnating electoral system.

The fledgling political party launched last week by mining magnate Clive Palmer has announced its first parliamentary representatives, with former Queensland LNP members Alex Douglas and Carl Judge telling state parliament today that they had signed on with the United Australia Party.

View the digital edition of this week’s FREE Australian Times newspaper, available every Tuesday across London.

The federal government is expected to raise taxes and charges in the May budget as the company tax take slides and public demand for services rises.