Perth Voice Interactive

The Palmer United Party candidate for Perth is former English teacher and law graduate Gabriel Harfouche.

A union man, he says he climbed aboard billionaire Clive Palmer’s bandwagon because of his plan to “reunite the nation” and get fresh faces into parliament.

Mr Harfouche says PUP policies he most likes include banning party officials from being lobbyists and a policy to send wealth back to the regions.

He strongly backs PUP’s refugee policy, which involves flying people here, interviewing them at the airport to see if they’re genuine refugees, and then either letting them in or flying them back.

“You wouldn’t need detention centres,” Mr Palmer has said.

“I think it has a strong international law basis to it,” Mr Harfouche says.

“We aren’t just about politicising the issue… we have to adhere to the conventions that we are signatories to, and Palmer United is strong on that.”

The larger-than-life party leader, whom Mr Harfouche speaks to weekly on the phone, is also a big drawcard.

“He’s a man of large stature and large ideas and I think he’s quite affable and altruistic.” Palmer’s support for veterans and age pensioners is also a big plus.

Mr Harfouche’s family came from Lebanon 42 years ago. He went to UWA where he chuckles “too many nights at the tavern and poker parties” meant he “didn’t cut the mustard to get into law”.

He instead became an English teacher, working in the north-west, with his first posting in Newman. He’s now gone back to uni and finished a graduate diploma in legal practice.

by DAVID BELL