Clive Palmer questioned in court over Queensland Nickel collapse

The former MP clashed with a barrister in court, and his security team faces scrutiny for what happened outside.

Clive Palmer, flanked by four security guards, leaves the Federal Court in Brisbane today.

Clive Palmer’s personal security guards will be investigated by the marshall of the Federal Court, after their alleged heavy-handed behaviour today.

One guard pushed a media photographer into a bush and another bumped Mr Palmer’s wife, Anna, down the stairs as they bundled him out of the Brisbane courthouse this afternoon.

A member of Clive Palmer’s security clashes with a photographer. Picture: AAP

Earlier, the guards had attempted to block The Australian from walking down a public corridor in the courthouse.

Outside court, Mr Palmer refused to answer questions about his hand-written diary, but blamed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for nearly 800 job losses at the nickel refinery Mr Palmer owns in Townsville.

Earlier, he was admonished by a Federal Court registrar for telling a barrister questioning him to “lift your game”, after the tycoon scoffed at suggestions he was heavily involved in Queensland Nickel before its collapse.

Mr Palmer is bundled into a waiting car. Picture: Jono Searle

The former federal MP has just finished giving evidence for the day in the Federal Court public examination into the company’s downfall — he will have to return on Monday.

Towards the end of the interrogation, Mr Palmer lost his temper with barrister Tom Sullivan QC, for special purpose liquidators PPB Advisory. Mr Sullivan suggested Mr Palmer had been “heavily involved” in the inner-workings of QLD Nickel in 2015.

Mr Palmer laughed. “What a load of rubbish, absolute rubbish.”

“It’s quite ludicrous … lift your game a bit.”

Registrar Murray Belcher scolded the resources tycoon. “That’s probably not appropriate Mr Palmer.

Mr Palmer replied, “I’m sorry about that, Registrar”.

Mr Sullivan and Mr Palmer had just spent hours in a back-and-forth over several emails sent to and from Mr Palmer’s “Terry Smith” email address that showed he was regularly asked to approve large QN contracts in 2015.

However, Mr Palmer repeatedly insisted he was not making the decisions or directions in his personal capacity, but rather as chairman of the Joint Venture Owner’s Committee (which he sometimes referred to as the Joint Venture Operating Committee).

The court heard there were only two members of the JVOC: Mr Palmer and his nephew, Clive Mensink. Mr Mensink was also the managing director of Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd, and was often the one writing to Mr Palmer asking for his approval on the contracts.

Earlier, Mr Palmer had been asked where his nephew — the sole registered director of QN — Clive Mensink was. He said he was “up towards the Arctic”, or possibly the North Sea, on a cruise between Berlin and St Petersburg.

Mr Sullivan asked Mr Palmer to ring Mr Mensink over the weekend and ask when he was returning to Australia. Mr Palmer said he would try and would report back on Monday when he returned to court “if I’ve made contact”.

The hearings continue next week.

QN funds ‘supported Palmer’

Mr Palmer has produced a hand-written diary that he says gave him permission to use Queensland Nickel cash for anything he wanted, including political donations and loans to his other companies.

The former federal MP is being interrogated in a Federal Court public examination into the collapse of QN earlier this year, under $300m in debts and costing nearly 800 jobs.

Administrators in April alleged Mr Palmer used QN as a “cash cow” to prop up the rest of his corporate empire and tip cash into his Palmer United Party. Mr Palmer has denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Palmer has produced a green, leather-bound 2001 diary that he says he started writing in August 2009, after he bought the Townsville nickel refinery from BHP.

The book contains resolutions of a “joint venture owners’ committee” hand-written by Mr Palmer in pencil, which he says occurred at various times over the past seven years.

The court is hearing that Mr Palmer used the book to record resolutions that effectively gave him increasing power over Queensland Nickel and its parent companies, QNI Metals and QNI Resources, even when he was not a registered director of QN.

Mr Palmer said that when he bought the refinery from BHP in 2009, there was a three-year ban on him using the refinery’s assets or funds to support other, unrelated Palmer-companies.

On dates in the notebook recorded as April 4, 2012 and April 5, 2012, Mr Palmer wrote resolutions that the refinery-related companies “should provide support for the companies in the Palmer group”.

Mr Palmer agreed that the bank account of QN was held in its own name, not the name of its parent companies.

Nevertheless, there are resolutions dated April 2012, where Mr Palmer gives the authority for QN funds to be used to make loans to his other companies, invest in other Palmer companies, support “Clive Palmer or his activities”, forgive loans, “make political donations as required by Clive Palmer” and to second refinery staff to do anything ordered by Mr Palmer.

Barrister Tom Sullivan QC, for special purpose liquidators PPB Advisory: “So were these new purposes and objectives of the joint venture?”

Mr Palmer: “They were.”

Mr Palmer also agreed that the resolutions were giving him the “sole control” of the JVOC, of which his nephew Clive Mensink was the other member.

The hearing continues.

Palmer’s power over QN

Mr Palmer is being interrogated about the contents of a notebook that he says recorded every meeting of the Queensland Nickel joint venture owners’ committee for six years.

The book is a 2001 diary but Mr Palmer picked it up out of his desk drawer in August 2009, he said, after he bought the refinery.

Every entry is handwritten in pencil and signed up to four times by Mr Palmer.

He has insisted he wrote the entries at the time they are dated. The resolutions give Mr Palmer as chairman of the JVOC the power to direct QN to do anything he wanted with joint venture property, and to hold meetings by himself with his nephew Clive Mensink.

Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd was the manager of Mr Palmer’s Yabulu refinery. The joint venture companies, QNI Metals and QNI Resources, owned the refinery and appointed the manager.

Mr Palmer said the book went everywhere with him over the seven years since he began writing in it.

“I had a jet, I could fly to Europe, I could fly to Paraguay if I wanted to,” he said.

“And I’d take the book with me, yeah.”

The book was presented to the court at the start of this week’s public examination.

Mr Palmer has claimed that he did not act as a shadow director of QN and was merely acting as chairman of the JVOC.

“Not heavily involved” in QN

Clive Palmer has denied being “heavily involved” in the business of Queensland Nickel in the year before it collapsed.

The former federal MP is giving evidence before a public examination into the failure of the Townsville company this year, under $300m in debts.

Mr Palmer said he was concentrating on politics in 2015, apart from a short stint when he was a director when his nephew Clive Mensink’s marriage broke down.

The resources tycoon was asked whether he was heavily involved in the business of QN in 2015.

“No, I don’t agree,” Mr Palmer said.

“I was heavily involved in parliament in Canberra, you can check Hansard.”

Mr Palmer said he stopped being a QN director in 2013 for political reasons.

“I didn’t like (former Qld premier) Campbell Newman and I wanted to be involved in political activity to get rid of him,” Mr Palmer said.

He has claimed privilege against self-incrimination several times so far in his short period in the witness box.

Barrister Tom Sullivan QC asked where Mr Mensink was and when he last spoke to him. Mr Mensink was the sole registered director when the company collapsed.

Mr Palmer said: “Some time last week. He was in Berlin”.

Mr Sullivan: “Have you discussed with him when he’s returning to Australia?”

Mr Palmer: “No.”

Palmer arrives at court

Clive Palmer has arrived at the Federal Court to be publicly examined over the collapse of his Queensland Nickel company flanked by private security guards.

The two men attempted to block The Australian from walking down a public hallway on level 6 of the Brisbane courthouse where Mr Palmer is holed up in a meeting room.

They confirmed they worked for Mr Palmer, and not the court, and eventually stepped aside.

The former federal MP and owner of QN has tried but failed twice to avoid giving evidence.

He will be questioned by barrister Tom Sullivan QC, for special purpose liquidators PPB Advisory.

More following