Judge quashes Clive Palmer’s 11th-hour bid to dodge summons

Clive Palmer has lost another 11th-hour legal bid to dodge giving evidence at the Federal Court of Australia.

Businessman and former federal federal MP Clive Palmer.

Clive Palmer has lost another 11th-hour legal bid to dodge giving evidence at the Federal Court over the collapse of his Queensland Nickel company.

Judge Nye Perram yesterday dismissed the resources tycoon’s attempt to avoid answering the summons, which will require him to turn up to the court in Brisbane and prepare to answer questions under oath.

Justice Perram said there was a significant public interest in the collapse of the Townsville nickel refinery company. “(There is) a substantial amount of money involved,” he said.

Mr Palmer’s failed application came after he tried last week to have the summons set aside.

In that matter, Federal Court judge Andrew Greenwood slapped down a self-represented Mr Palmer’s constitutional ­argument.

Justice Greenwood also suppressed a “salacious” affidavit from the former federal MP, which the court heard threatened to badly damage the reputation of Malcolm Turnbull.

Yesterday, Justice Perram agreed the affidavit should have been suppressed and disagreed with an argument by barrister Nicholas Ferrett, for Mr Palmer, that the order denied the businessman procedural fairness.

Justice Perram said Mr Palmer’s affidavit included an alle­gation that the commonwealth government had appointed special purpose liquidators, who will lead Monday’s public examination, for an “improper purpose”.

Queensland Nickel went into voluntary administration in January and was liquidated in April. Almost 800 workers lost their jobs and the federal government had to step in to cover unpaid redundancy entitlements worth almost $70 million.

Mr Palmer, Queensland Nickel’s former chief financial officer Daren Wolfe and the refinery’s former operations manager Ian Ferguson are all required to appear in court on Monday, along with Mr Palmer’s in-house solicitor Kris Byrne.

The public examinations are scheduled for two weeks.