Controversial businessman Clive Palmer defends family’s overseas cruise holiday

CONTROVERSIAL businessman Clive Palmer has defended his family’s overseas cruise holiday, saying he’s ‘like any Australian’ and claiming his only crime is loving his family.

• Clive’s $10k cruise after health crisis

CONTROVERSIAL businessman Clive Palmer has defended his family’s overseas cruise holiday, despite recently fronting court with a pillow and sick bag claiming to be ill.

Mr Palmer, who last month appeared in Federal Court in Brisbane over the collapse of Queensland Nickel, said he had the right to take his family on holiday “like any Australian”.

“If it a crime to love your wife and children to spend time with them then I am guilty,” he said in a statement.

He was photographed boarding a luxury Mediterranean cruise in Barcelona yesterday.

Tickets are understood to cost about $10,000 each.

Mr Palmer also claimed he was being targeted because of his stance on the Chinese Government.

“The fact of the matter is that I am the only Australian who has offered any resistance to the Chinese Government’s infiltration of our country or the takeover of our media by foreign interests,” he said.

Clive Palmer says it’s not a crime to take his family on a holiday “like any Australian”. Picture: Martin Seras Lima

“There are no actions against me for anything in any court. I have not been accused of any crime against anyone.

“An injustice to one man anywhere is an injustice to all men everywhere.

Mr Palmer also defended his role in collapse of the Yabulu nickel refinery — which was the largest private employer in the northern city.

“As for Queensland Nickel, I provided over two billion dollars of support for the company for three years to protect 3000 Australians in jobs when BHP wanted to sack them in 2009,” he said.

“The Commonwealth Government received over $700 million dollars in tax because of my efforts.

“The Commonwealth Government has provided all outstanding entitlements to all Queensland Nickel employees in accordance with legislation introduced by the Howard Government.

“Projects that I personally started have produced over 14 billion dollars of investment in Australia and in 2012 I was named a National Living Treasure by the National Trust.

“The people behind those in power in this country destroy diversity and opportunity for our young people and deprives (sic) them of their future.

“God Bless Australia.”

Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt said Mr Palmer’s trip must be galling for former Queensland Nickel’s workers in Townsville still waiting for answers around the plant’s shutdown.

“Today’s escapades offer no such enlightenment and there’s no answers forthcoming,” he said.

“They’re not getting any answers from either Clive Mensink or Clive Palmer so of course we’re going to have to wait just a little bit longer.

“I think people should be upset and disappointed that we’re seeing an overseas trip being taken at a time when people are still trying to get their lives back together.”

Asked whether he was surprised at the timing of the trip considering Mr Palmer’s claims of ill-health at his last court appearances, Mr Pitt said he wasn’t a doctor.

“But I will say it’s been widely reported that Mr Palmer was experiencing medical difficulties and of course now he’s going on an overseas trip,” he said.