Clive Palmer’s Coolum court setback ‘a very good present for us’

Villa owners at Clive Palmer’s Coolum resort are treating a Federal Court decision as a ‘very good’ Christmas present.

Villa owners at Clive Palmer’s struggling Coolum resort are treating a Federal Court rejection of an attempt by the federal MP to increase his control over their properties as a “very good” Christmas present.

The Federal Court on Christmas Eve dismissed an attempt by Mr Palmer and several of his companies to lift their voting power within an entity that controls the fate of about 80 timeshare villas, which he has sought to take over.

One of the embattled unit owners, grandmother Maree Frecklington, yesterday described the judgement as a “very good Christmas present” in the long-running fight, which has seen utilities to her villa cut off and her playing hide and seek with resort security guards to ensure her access to the property isn’t blocked.

“It means we can move forward, with this positive news,” she said. She spent Christmas Day inside her villa “with my grand-dog”, cooking with a portable gas stove placed on her dining table.

The villa owners have been under pressure to leave their properties on the resort, with water and electricity cut off to some of the units while companies associated with Mr Palmer continue to seek a takeover over their body-corporate style entity.

An interim decision by the Australian Takeovers Panel last month restricted Mr Palmer’s companies to having 20 per cent of the voting power within the entity, known as The President’s Club. This came after his companies acquired a 44.3 per cent stake in The President’s Club in 2011 and 2012.

This week, the Federal Court rejected a key legal argument launched by Mr Palmer and his companies — that The President’s Club had formally launched its bid to block the takeover beyond the required deadline without a valid extension being granted.