Palmer to bankroll Craig Kelly as independent and legal challenge against Facebook

Clive Palmer will support Craig Kelly’s legal challenge against Facebook and bankroll the controversial MP’s campaign to run as an independent in the seat of Hughes at the next election.

Clive Palmer. middle and Craig Kelly, right, attract attention at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Clive Palmer will support Craig Kelly’s legal challenge against Facebook and bankroll the controversial former federal Liberal MP’s campaign to run as an independent in the seat of Hughes at the next election.

The mining magnate was in Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday with the Hughes MP, who left the Liberal Party this year over his controversial backing of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus.

Mr Kelly revealed that he planned to sue Facebook for defamation and for wrongfully kicking him off the platform for promoting ­hydroxychloroquine as a Covid-19 treatment.

“Facebook have put out a statement to the media accusing me of repeatedly spreading dan­gerous information yet they failed to identify what they said,” Mr Kelly said. “You can’t have foreign corporations silencing freedom of speech in Australia.”

Mr Palmer said he would help support the legal challenge, which would likely occur at the Federal Court. Mr Kelly will need to raise about $2m for the case.

Mr Palmer said while his own party United Australia Party would run candidates in most seats at the next federal election, he would personally support Mr Kelly’s campaign as an independent candidate in the NSW seat of Hughes. When asked if he would be prepared to fund Mr Kelly’s campaign, Mr Palmer said: “Absolutely. I don’t think there is any doubt about that.

“In this critical time in our ­nation’s future, it is more im­portant than ever that we have some independent leadership, and Craig Kelly is a person of great integrity,” Mr Palmer told The Australian.

“My admiration for Craig Kelly stems from the courage he has got. Courage is one of the rarest things in political life today and it is good to see someone who has the conviction to stand up for what he believes in.

“Without taking a side on any debate, in Australia we do believe in people’s right to be able speak up for what they think is right. It is certainly the responsibility for any member of parliament to have a conscience to fight for his electorate rather than his party.

“But we live in a system where you have got the tyranny of two political parties, who are akin to each other and endorsement hangs over them and they are kept in line.

“And that is not good for the Australian public. That is one of the reasons I had my party and, of course, I had my fair share of criticism too.”

Mr Kelly said he wanted to “stand and fight for my seat”.

“I want to stand and fight for my constituents. That is where I want to be and that is where I want to fight,” Mr Kelly said.

Mr Palmer said he donated 37 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to the federal government but he had no idea what had been done with them. “That was received by the government and we are trying to find out where they are … because we thought that was a good gesture at the time, we thought it was a good thing to do,” he said.

“It is something we have used for 40 years here for arthritis quite safely, so it has got some value.

“The commonwealth gratefully accepted it and signed a receipt for it, but we can’t locate what they have done with it.”