Clive Palmer spree ‘makes mockery’ of bailout

Clive Palmer splurge on car fleet, mansion ‘makes mockery’ of ­taxpayer bailout of Queensland Nickel workers’ entitlements.

The mansion under contract at Fig Tree Pocket, southwest of Brisbane

Clive Palmer has been accused of “making a mockery’’ of the ­taxpayer bailout of worker’s ­entitlements at his collapsed Queensland Nickel after the ­businessman is believed to have splurged on a fleet of luxury cars and a waterfront mansion.

Cashed-up from a recent court win, Mr Palmer is understood to have bought six Mercedes-Benz cars from his favourite dealership in Brisbane’s Toowong.

As reported in The Australian last week, the former federal MP last week bought a $7.4 million mansion on the Brisbane River from Peter Bond, the former boss of Linc Energy, now in liquidation.

The spending spree comes after Mr Palmer’s estranged ­Chinese business partners Citic were ordered by a West Australian court to pay him $350m as well as a quarterly multi-million-dollar retainer.

While the businessman won his long-running case in WA, he is still fighting a many-fronted legal battle in the Queensland courts against Queensland Nickel’s liquidators.

The Townsville-based company collapsed in 2016, costing nearly 800 workers their jobs. Taxpayers had to pay $70m under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee safety net scheme to cover workers’ redundancy payments.

Liquidators of Queensland Nickel are now trying to freeze his assets in Australia and worldwide and claw back $300m owed to creditors, including the $70m to federal taxpayers.

Ange Bramwell, of Ayr, whose husband, Shaun, is still looking for full-time work after losing his job at QNI, said Mr Palmer was “making a mockery’’ of the government and its bailout.

“How is this happening? It is ridiculous,’’ she said. “He is ­making a mockery of the government, which he has been doing for years now.’’

The liquidators allege Mr Palmer acted as a shadow director for the Townsville-based refinery company and allowed it to trade while insolvent.

In an amalgamated “mega” lawsuit in the Queensland ­Supreme Court, liquidators allege Mr Palmer breached his duties as a director and should pay compensation of $204m.

They are also demanding he return more than $170m in payments he allegedly siphoned from Queensland Nickel to prop up the rest of his corporate empire, his family, his own wealth, and two mysterious foreign women.

Mr Palmer hit the headlines in late 2010 when he handed over 55 Mercedes-Benz cars to his then refinery workers in a $10 million giveaway complete with fireworks and drumrolls.

Other workers received Fijian holidays and weekends at the Sheraton Mirage.

Meanwhile, Mr Palmer last week entered contracts to buy the Needham Street, Fig Tree Pocket mansion that was passed in at $9.5m last August. Selling agents Ray White New Farm’s Matt Lancashire and Christine Rudolph declined to comment on the identity of the buyer yesterday, which was exclusively reported by The Australian last week.

Ray White strongly denied the Palmer purchase last week. Yesterday, the agents said there were more than 140 inspections of the seven-bedroom and nine-bathroom property, which features a climate-controlled wine cellar, boardroom and gold-class cinema, during the campaign. They said it was extremely rare to get such a substantial home with a 132m Brisbane River frontage.

Brisbane agents said the home was extensively damaged during the 2011 Brisbane River floods, with millions spent renovating it.

Mercedes-Benz Toowong would yesterday not comment on the six-car acquisition, which was denied in writing by Mr Palmer yesterday. Senior sources said Mr Palmer had embarked on a spending spree and could not ­“resist a bargain”.