Clive Palmer’s friends ‘happy to write me big cheques’

Clive Palmer yesterday told a court he was being targeted by Chinese Communist spies, including his cleaners.

Clive Palmer arrives at Brisbane’s Federal Court yesterday. Picture: Claudia Baxter

A cheerful and morphine-free Clive Palmer has boasted about his wealth, claiming he is a collect­or — not seller — of luxury assets, with a slew of rich friends who would write him $100 million cheques on demand.

But the former federal MP is selling a $5m superyacht on the Gold Coast next weekend, cannot name any of his wealthy and generous buddies, and said it was his “right” as a citizen for federal taxpayers to pay $70m in redundancy entitlements for the 800 workers his nickel refinery sacked.

During another lively session in the witness box in the Federal Court in Brisbane — where liquidators are combing over the remains of Mr Palmer’s failed Queensland Nickel company — Mr Palmer said under oath he was being targeted by Chinese communist spies, including his cleaners who, he said, stole his rubbish.

Townsville-based Queensland Nickel collapsed last year, leaving 800 workers jobless and creditors $300m out of pocket.

Liquidators focused yesterday on Mr Palmer’s assets, including those held by s flagship company Mineralogy, which he says is worth $215m. His personal wealth and that of his empire may be targeted to recoup cash for creditors.

The court heard Mineralogy owes Mr Palmer $34m, which he said he’d loaned the company over the years. Asked where he got such a large sum, he said he had “no lack of money”. “I’ve (also) got a lot of friends internationally that are happy to write cheques for $50m or $100m when I need it,” he told barrister Adam Pomerenke QC, for general-purpose liquidators FTI Consulting.

But when pressed as to his friends’ identities, Mr Palmer said they were confidential, before suggesting they were “my wife, me”, and asking Mr Pomerenke for a donation. “It’s just my ability to put out a request on the internet and funds will be flowing in,” said Mr Palmer, who in late 2015 went cap in hand to the state and federal governments seeking a cash bailout to prevent Queensland Nickel’s closure.

Mr Palmer, who said he was feeling much better and had stopped taking his morphine painkillers after a week of public illness, said he did not intend to sell his Coolum golf resort, which he estimated was worth $200m, because he does not “like selling things”.“I’m a collector, I like to amass wealth and keep it, you never know when a rainy day is coming (and) a liquidator is going to knock on your door,” he said.

But next weekend he will sell his $5m, 26m superyacht Maximus, after buying it for daughter Emily’s 15th birthday eight years ago. Auctioneer Adrian Seiffert told The Australian Mr Palmer had instructed him to sell the boat because “they don’t use it”.