New MP Clive Palmer did not turn up for a Parliament House induction briefing organised just for him. He sent a staff member to take notes in his place.
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Mr Palmer, who was declared the member for Fairfax earlier this month by a margin of 53 votes, was not invited to attend the two-day induction for new lower house MPs in early October because the votes for his seat were still being recounted.
Instead, the Department of Parliamentary Services arranged a one-on-one briefing to walk Mr Palmer through the building and its services.
But when the briefing took place last week, Mr Palmer sent a staff member instead.
''We met with Mr Palmer's representative … and ran him through a summary of the induction program,'' Department of Parliamentary Services secretary Carol Mills said.
''We've obviously not yet had an opportunity to meet with Mr Palmer personally to see what interests he might have.''
When asked if he skipped the induction because he did not think it was important, Mr Palmer replied ''that's rubbish'', adding that his staff member ''happened to be there because his daughter lives in Canberra''.
It is unclear if Mr Palmer will even attend the opening of Parliament this week, after coming down with a cold.
He is also booked to address the National Press Club on Tuesday, a rare honour for a new crossbench MP.
But he has said he is planning a quiet week, with no meetings arranged for his first official week in Canberra, no issues he wanted to raise and no concrete plans for his maiden speech.
Mr Palmer has previously said that he does not plan on turning up for every vote in the House and has suggested he will commute to Canberra on his private jet.
The Liberal National Party's candidate for Fairfax, Ted O'Brien, warned on Sunday that the people of Fairfax would expect nothing less than full-time representation from Mr Palmer.
''With every privilege comes commensurate responsibility and this is especially pertinent when it comes to political representation,'' Mr O'Brien said.
The LNP is still considering whether it will petition the High Court to challenge the close result in Fairfax.
With AAP
