PUP leader explains by walking out on ABC

THE pressure on Clive Palmer to explain properly if he legitimately took more than $12 million of China’s money is taking a toll.

THE pressure on Clive Palmer to explain properly if he legitimately took more than $12 million of China’s money — and used it to bankroll his political party — is taking a toll.

The PUP leader angrily walked out of an ABC 7.30 interview last night because tenacious host Sarah Ferguson zeroed in on his Achilles heel: the money that China accuses him of wrongfully siphoning for his political purposes.

Mr Palmer is like a grenade with the pin half pulled at the best of times. He is more volatile now amid a growing volume of evidence about China’s $12m, and its vanishing from a National Australia Bank cheque account in two tranches when the resources tycoon was spending big on his successful federal election campaign.

He has been inconsistent in his explanations this week, telling the National Press Club and journalists $2.167m of the missing money went to Media Circus Network, which booked advertising for his election, because it was his money to spend as he saw fit. He has said there were “no strings attached” to how he could spend the cash.

This doesn’t stack up. It contradicts the legal responses given by his company to a retired Supreme Court judge who is investigating the matters in confidential Brisbane arbitration proceedings, that the money went to pay for “port management services”; and it contradicts deeds signed personally by Mr Palmer, who pledged to spend China’s cash only on the iron ore port at Cape Preston in Western Australia.

Last night on 7.30, Ferguson went down the money trail and incurred Mr Palmer’s wrath.

“What I said was that we paid Media Circus from money that was paid to us for services that was provided by us, which is quite normal in a joint-venture situation,” he said.

Ferguson: “Let’s be clear about this, Mr Palmer, just let me put a question to you if I could. According to the deed that has now been made public, that fund that was supposed to administer the port, the funds were only to be used for the port and it seems as though you’ve taken the money out and given it to Media Circus.”

Mr Palmer replied: “Well everything you have just said is not true. I just want to make it absolutely clear to you. There are no cases against me. There’s no proceeding against me in any way, and there’s no suggestion that I’ve done anything wrong.

“Don’t talk to me about allegations and bullshit. It is subject to court proceedings in which we are suing them for $600m. I’m not answering any more for you, so goodbye, we’ll see you later.”

On that note, he stood up, and abruptly terminated the interview.