The Rinehart circus rolled into Perth this week. The long-running family dispute had proven a colourful sideshow in the opening stages of the Hancock Prospecting v Wright Prospecting legal battle, but was quickly about to become the main event.

As the trial between two of Australia’s richest mining families entered its fourth week, Bianca Rinehart made an unexpected arrival at the WA Supreme Court on Monday morning, sending camera crews scrambling.