Clive Palmer’s court claims ‘fit for Mad Hatter’s tea party’

Judge dismisses bid by Clive Palmer to include claims of government conspiracy in liquidation proceedings.

Clive Palmer leaves the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Friday. Picture: AAP

A judge has dismissed a bid by Clive Palmer to include claims of government conspiracy in his defence for liquidation proceedings regarding the collapse of Queensland Nickel, saying the accusations are more ­befitting of the “Mad Hatter’s tea party” than the courtroom.

Queensland Supreme Court judge David Jackson yesterday rejected Mr Palmer’s third attempt to have the government-appointed special purpose liquidator removed from the case.

The liquidator is trying to recoup $70 million in taxpayer funds paid to sacked Queensland Nickel workers under the commonwealth Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme. The Townsville refinery collapsed in 2016, costing about 800 workers their jobs and owing more than $200m to creditors.

Mr Palmer had attempted to include, in his proposed defence, claims that Scott Morrison, ministers Michaelia Cash and Stuart Robert, and former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull were part of a plot to hurt his chances at the upcoming election.

He claimed the special purpose liquidator was appointed to damage his reputation at the behest of the government.

He said some of the evidence to support his claims was inadmiss­able because of rules regarding parliamentary privilege.

Justice Jackson said the claims, apparently based on discussions Mr Palmer had with senior ministers and solicitors, lacked factual basis. He said the claims contained “inexplicable errors” and “weaknesses in logic”.

“It might be too much to criticise the whole of (the claim) as nonsensical, but some of the allegations … would be more at home in an exchange made at the Mad Hatter’s tea party than raised in the support of the resolution of serious points necessary to decide a question of significance in a large commercial case such as this one,” Justice Jackson said.

The matter is to go to trial on July 15.