Clive Palmer a no-show at Obama dinner despite protestations

When the JFK Library honoured Barack Obama with an award for political courage, there was a notable Aussie absentee.

Caroline Kennedy with Barack and Michelle Obama.

When the JFK Library honoured Barack Obama with an award for political courage at a glittering ceremony in Boston on Sunday, there was a notable Australian absentee.

Clive Palmer — one of 42 ­directors of the library’s foundation, to which he’s donated a hefty $US4.5 million ($6m) since 2000 — missed hearing folk singer James Taylor croon, lost the ­opportunity to shake hands with former vice-president Joe Biden, and wasn’t in the room for Mr Obama’s rousing speech.

“Courage means not simply doing what’s politically expedient, but doing what, deep in our hearts, we know is right,” Mr Obama told the star-studded ­dinner.

Mr Palmer — whose ill-fated political machine, the Palmer United Party, was deregistered by the Australian Electoral Commission yesterday — was meant to don a tuxedo and attend.

The former MP even instructed his solicitor, Sam Iskander, to last month write to the liquidators for his collapsed refinery company Queensland Nickel, warning them of a possible diary clash with Mr Palmer’s scheduled Federal Court testimony in Brisbane today.

“I am instructed by Mr Clive Palmer that he, as director of the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, USA, is hosting a dinner for former President Obama to receive a profile of courage award, on May 7, 2017,” Mr Iskander wrote. “This has been a long standing commitment.”

Mr Palmer would make it to the Brisbane court with hours to spare, Mr Iskander informed liquidators.

While the actual Obama dinner host, JFK’s daughter Caroline Kennedy, said the Boston event was about celebrating “politics and family”, Mr Palmer was nowhere to be seen.

He did not answer calls or text messages from The Australian yesterday.

But Mr Palmer is expected to appear — as required — at court today, to answer questions under oath about his missing nephew, Clive Mensink.

Mr Mensink was the sole registered director of Mr Palmer’s Queensland Nickel when it collapsed last year, costing creditors $300m and nearly 800 workers their jobs.

But the younger Clive has been on a luxury overseas holiday since June, repeatedly ­shirking orders to return to Australia to testify about his role in the corporate failure — causing Federal Court judge John Dowsett to issue two warrants for his arrest.

Justice Dowsett has long been keen for Mr Palmer to be quizzed about his knowledge of Mr Mensink’s whereabouts, after his nephew fell out of contact with lawyers in February.

According to documents filed in the Federal Court, Mr Mensink last month filed an appeal to the warrants — via his lawyer, Mr ­Iskander.