Electoral Commission of Queensland settles Clive Palmer lawsuit
Queensland’s electoral watchdog has settled a lawsuit against billionaire Clive Palmer, clearing the way for him to continue to make political donations in the state.
Queensland’s electoral watchdog has settled a lawsuit against billionaire Clive Palmer, clearing the way for him to continue to make political donations in the state.
The Electoral Commission of Queensland took Mr Palmer’s company, Palmer Leisure Australia, to the Queensland Supreme Court in late 2020, seeking a declaration it was a property developer and therefore banned from donating, following an investigation by The Australian newspaper.
PLA, directed by Mr Palmer, made several donations to his United Australia Party, which ran 55 candidates at the October 31, 2020, state election.
At the time, PLA and Mr Palmer both had ongoing applications before the Gold Coast City Council to develop two of his landholdings: the Palmer Colonial golf course at Robina and the Avica wedding resort and spa at Merrimac.
In August, the ECQ had a win in the Supreme Court, after judge Glenn Martin dismissed PLA’s application to have the watchdog’s case thrown out, ruling it was possible the company could be a property developer, even though it had lodged only a single development application.
Justice Martin said the matter would need to be determined at trial.
Late on Monday, the ECQ confirmed it had settled the case. The decision came after PLA withdrew its development application, effectively killing Mr Palmer’s plans to turn the Robina golf course into a large centre that would include commercial buildings and residential high-rises up to 30 storeys.
Electoral commissioner Pat Vidgen said he was happy with the outcome. “Palmer Leisure Australia’s circumstances have changed since proceedings began, with the planning development being withdrawn so there is no ongoing planning application,” he said.
“In doing this, we are satisfied based on PLA’s present operations that it would not breach the Electoral Act were it to make a political donation.
“The previous judgment of the court has provided ECQ with the certainty required to continue to administer and enforce those provisions of the Electoral Act.”
As part of the settlement, Mr Palmer’s company and the ECQ will pay their own legal costs. Mr Palmer strenuously denied he was a property developer.
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