This weekend Sunday Night finishes it’s investigation into the plane crash and talks to Clive Palmer.
Clive Palmer
He’s the flamboyant billionaire with a XXXL personality who’s bankrolled his own political party straight into a position of power. Now sitting in parliament Clive Palmer wants to unveil his agenda – and he’s chosen veteran reporter Mike Willesee to do it. At least that was the plan when Mike was asked by Clive’s publicist to join the entrepreneurial mining magnate on a fact finding mission to the US. The trouble with Clive, as we find out, is that he’s often not on the same page as everyone else. Or even the same plane. This is not your average political story – this is an eye-popping sneak peek into the outrageously lavish lifestyle of a larger than life man who loves big things…..from big ships and big dinosaurs to big breakfasts and big announcements. The purpose of the US trip, Clive told us, was to prepare his Senators-elect – four ‘ordinary Australians’ who will soon hold the balance of power – for their new political careers. Clive picked up the tab for business class flights and luxury hotels, but it didn’t go much to plan – he grounded his luxury jet and never made it to the US, and without their supreme leader clucking over them, Clive’s rookies spill everything about his radical plans. When Willesee finally tracks down the man of the moment – who has already fallen asleep in parliament, sung on the radio and dedicated himself to rebuilding the Titanic cruise liner – it’s not good news for Tony Abbott.
Flight VH-MDX
Last week’s Sunday Night exclusive on Australia’s greatest unsolved aviation mystery has made headlines all week. Flight VH-MDX crashed into the Barrington Tops mountain range in atrocious weather shortly after the pilot was ordered to wait for clearance to enter military controlled airspace. The spine chilling final moments of MDX were captured on cockpit voice recorder – then the aircraft simply vanished without a trace. Thirty three years later the wreckage – and the five men aboard – has not been found. Multiple searches and theories about what happened to MDX have turned up nothing. Aviator Dick Smith says the actions of the RAAF in denying instant access contributed to the tragedy, and all week he has been involved in a war of words with Air Marshall Geoff Brown. This weekend Sunday Night launches the most scientific search for MDX ever conducted, and this most baffling of mysteries might just be on the cusp of being solved.
Sunday on Channel Seven at 7.30pm
