Clive Palmer in bed asleep as administrators moved on nickel refinery

Clive Palmer was not aware of administrators being appointed to Queensland Nickel because he was ‘asleep’.

Clive Palmer at the Brisbane Supreme Court yesterday. Picture: AAP

Clive Palmer said he was in bed asleep when his now-fugitive nephew Clive Mensink appointed administrators to Queensland Nickel, as the former federal MP was forced to twice deny lying under oath.

Representing himself in the Queensland Supreme Court yesterday, Mr Palmer called himself as a witness to defend a bid by Queensland Nickel’s taxpayer-funded liquidators to freeze $200 million worth of his assets.

Special purpose liquidators PPB Advisory allege there is a serious risk of Mr Palmer shifting his wealth offshore to frustrate efforts to pay back creditors, owed more than $300m after Queensland Nickel’s collapse early last year.

The court also heard liquidators had no evidence to support their allegation that Mr Palmer could have fabricated his diary, a key exhibit he presented to the Federal Court last year, but said they could not have the document forensically examined because it was written in pencil.

Under cross-examination by the liquidators’ barrister, Shane Doyle QC, Mr Palmer said he was not aware of administrators being appointed to his Townsville refinery company in the early hours of January 15 last year.

Mr Doyle: “Are you seriously suggesting ... administrators were appointed to (Queensland Nickel), because of insolvency, without your knowledge?”

Mr Palmer: “The appointment of the administrators took place while I was asleep in bed.”

The founder of the now-­defunct Palmer United Party said his nephew Mr Mensink — who is overseas and faces Federal Court arrest warrants for contempt of court — and QN chief financial officer Daren Wolfe appointed ­administrators.

Mr Doyle twice challenged the truthfulness of Mr Palmer’s evidence, and at one stage, Queensland Supreme Court judge John Bond said Mr Palmer’s testimony contradicted facts given in other QN-related lawsuits.

Mr Doyle: “You’re not giving truthful evidence now.”

Mr Palmer: “That’s not true.”

The court heard a superyacht passed in at auction in May on the Gold Coast belonged to Mr Palmer’s daughter Emily, not Mr Palmer, and that most of the $23m in proceeds from the sale of Mr Palmer’s corporate headquarters Mineralogy House remained in Queensland bank accounts.

Mr Palmer confirmed he transferred a $1.75m Gold Coast home to his business associate Domenic Martino in September last year — for no profit — just two days before he was to give evidence to the Federal Court about his assets.

“Every day, I get to work and there’s 100 documents to sign,” Mr Palmer said, after boasting he led a “complicated life” with “billions of dollars” in assets.

Mr Palmer later cross-examined special purpose liquidator Stephen Parbery, whom Mr Palmer previously accused of being part of a federal political conspiracy to keep him out of politics.

After several longwinded questions to Mr Parbery, who appeared via video link, Justice Bond cautioned Mr Palmer. “I know you’re not a lawyer but if you’re going to do this job ... you’re going to have to undergo the rigour of putting a proposition that can be justified,” Justice Bond said.

The hearing continues today.