Abbott has a Senate he can work with Clive Palmer has too much influence in the Senate for a buffoon. We can only hope his three senators will think for themselves. That said, the new Senate is far more workable than Tony Abbott would have feared, with the Greens and Labor losing their lock: CLIVE Palmer's bid to secure a third Senate seat and a crucial role in the balance of power hit a roadblock yesterday when West Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlam requested a recount after narrowly losing his seat to the ... Palmer United Party's Zhenya Wang ... Mr Wang, a ... Chinese-born mining executive [and] managing director of Perth-based Australasian Resources, described Mr Palmer, his party boss and key business associate, as an "inspirational" and "entertaining" leader... The Coalition will have one less senator after July 1 next year, but the ALP is the big loser, with five fewer seats. The new configuration will see the government with 33 senators, which means it needs six of the eight crossbenchers to support its legislation - if Labor and the Greens oppose it. Such a scenario would require at least one PUP candidate to support the government for a bill to pass. While Mr Palmer has conservative leanings, particularly on economic issues, his party's stance on certain social issues could be at loggerheads with the government... Should the Western Australian appeals be dismissed, from July 1 next year there will be three PUP senators, one Family First member, one Liberal Democrat and the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party's Mr Muir. The crossbench includes continuing DLP senator John Madigan and independent Nick Xenophon. The election of just the second Chinese-born Australian to Parliament would normally be worth celebrating as a sign of our inclusiveness: But Wang is not just a member of Clive Palmer's party. He heads a company of which Palmer is a major shareholder, and is therefore is to some extent financially dependent on him: Australasian Resources (ASX: ARH) has secured a $500,000 working capital loan from Clive Palmer's Mineralogy. Palmer, an Australian businessman, is most widely known as the owner of Mineralogy... Mineralogy and Palmer are a major shareholder of Australasian Resources. Is it healthy for an MP to be beholden commercially to the leader of his party? Is Palmer's shareholding not potentially an implied inducement?