One portrait of Clive Palmer, the tyrannical bully

CLIVE Palmer's former bodyguard has revealed what he insists is the disturbing truth about the conduct of the maverick leader.

Clive Palmer

AS Clive Palmer arrives in Canberra to start his parliamentary career, his former security manager and bodyguard has revealed what he insists is the disturbing truth about the conduct of the maverick Queensland leader whose party is likely to hold the balance of power in the Senate.

Mike Hennessy, 58, said he was speaking out to expose "the real Mr Palmer", describing him as a tyrannical bully who has exploded with foul abuse at staff, falsely accused loyal managers at his resort on the Sunshine Coast of being "lazy, thieving c . . ts", dispatched others by saying "you're sacked - now get off my resort", and privately mocked voters.

Mr Palmer, who won the Queensland Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax and whose Palmer United Party will have at least two senators in parliament after July 1, has rejected the claims as untrue.

But Mr Hennessy, who worked closely with Mr Palmer on security and flew with him on the private jet on his last visit to the National Press Club in Canberra, where he is due to speak to political journalists today, said he believed that people were scared to talk because they were intimidated by his reputation for litigation, including costly defamation actions.

According to Mr Hennessy, who served more than 20 years in the Australian army and then as a Queensland prisons officer, Mr Palmer disclosed to a confidant in a telephone conversation soon after the election that his political campaign cost $20 million, and that he was putting aside $2m as a legal "slush fund" to contest any challenges.

Mr Palmer has in recent months launched Supreme Court defamation proceedings against The Australian newspaper and the federal Liberal Party's newly elected member for Fisher, Mal Brough. He previously has sued the then Queensland premier Anna Bligh and then state treasurer Andrew Fraser.

Mr Palmer falsely claimed earlier this year that he had a 68-nil winning record in legal actions. He has accused the CIA of funding the Greens, Australian Electoral Commission staff of being corrupt, cabinet ministers in the Campbell Newman-led Queensland government of corruptly taking "illegal payments", and Rupert Murdoch's former wife Wendi Deng of being a spy for China.

Mr Hennessy, who lost his job at the Palmer Coolum Resort and dinosaur park a fortnight ago, told The Australian in an exclusive interview: "Enough's enough. I've wanted to say something for a long time because I personally think that the rest of this country and particularly the electors of Fairfax need to know what this person is like for real. He is an egotistical bully. The people of Australia are going to see it. It's going to come out when he gets into parliament. Because when he gets told he can't have something, he doesn't understand the word 'no', it's as simple as that.

"He abuses resort staff on a regular basis and the language is quite explicit to the point where staff, I know of staff, who have (felt) sick wondering what sort of retribution they are going to get if they tell him that something's not available to him.

"He is Jekyll and Hyde. He can be as nice as pie when he wants something - and he wanted to be elected. He promises them everything, shakes their hand, does the baby-kissing thing, the whole thing, and he (said to me), 'Well, that went well Mike, I've got them all f . . ked'.

"I spent quite a bit of time with Clive, wherever he went and he decided he needed security to go with him and I went with him, so I was quite privy to conversations that he was having with various people, particularly in the lead-up to the federal election this year."

Mr Hennessy signed a statutory declaration yesterday at The Australian's offices in Brisbane to swear to the truthfulness of his claims. He said he needed another job and did not expect to receive prompt payment of financial entitlements of several thousand dollars he claims he is owed by Mr Palmer, but he planned to take action to recover the money.

He has not received any payment or promise of payment from The Australian. He said he was nervous about going public as he had never done anything like it before, but he hoped others would feel less intimidated in future.

The Australian yesterday asked Mr Palmer about the claims, including that he was a "tyrannical bully" who yelled foul abuse at staff, making them fearful and severely stressed. Mr Palmer replied: "Who of you is without sin cast the first stone."

Mr Palmer added that Mr Hennessy had resigned. Mr Hennessy, however, insisted he was unfairly dismissed by Mr Palmer's son, Michael. Mr Palmer said: "These allegations are just not true. (I have) never said anything like that. He resigned."

Mr Hennessy said that during the election campaign, Mr Palmer boasted to him: "I've got (Kevin) Rudd and (Tony) Abbott scared. They are afraid of me, because I am going to win this election and they are panicking big-time."

Mr Hennessy said Mr Palmer had privately boasted that his newly found political power meant he would never pay more than $6m that he has owed the commonwealth since it formally billed him for the carbon tax and a fine, arising from his loss-making nickel refinery in Townsville.

"He said to me, 'Mike this is going really well, I can see us getting a number of seats in the parliament', and he says, 'I will get senators in and I will control the government when I get the senators in, I will control the balance of power, and that will f . . k them for their ($6.2m)."

Since the election, Mr Palmer has called on the Prime Minister to go beyond his pledge to scrap the carbon tax by refunding all carbon tax bills, meaning his would not be payable.

Grace Collier, managing director of Australian Dismissal Services, said yesterday: "We are looking into the circumstances of Mr Hennessy's employment separation event.

"It is our standard practice to contact employers to resolve unfair dismissal matters prior to lodging paperwork with the Fair Work Commission."

Mr Hennessy said Mr Palmer could offer him $200,000 a year "and I would not go back because it's just untenable working there".

"It's not just the money; the stress is unbearable, it literally is," he said. "People are walking around like they are shell-shocked and that's not an exaggeration."

Mr Palmer has previously spoken of his admiration for resort staff, and in February last year he issued a media release in which he said: "I have addressed all the staff and I was surprised to learn that they had never been paid a bonus before. Everyone will be paid a $500 bonus immediately, and we plan to make bonuses an ongoing part of our staff incentive structure under a profit-based system that will see the (resort) exceed all expectations as a place to work, visit and invest. I have the utmost confidence in the current staff led by Bill (Schoch) delivering future success for the resort and the region as a whole."

But Mr Hennessy said that whatever the intention in early 2012, the workplace now was "toxic" at the resort and dinosaur park, a top-notch five-star destination for golfers and five-star travellers under the Hyatt's management until Mr Palmer bought it in 2011.

Mr Schoch did not return calls yesterday.

Mr Hennessy claimed he had witnessed "outrageous" temper tantrums and outbursts by Mr Palmer at the resort, which has been suffering from mass sackings and occupancy that some days is virtually non-existent. Other staff and former staff of the resort at Coolum and the nickel refinery in Townsville have spoken of similar outbursts.

In the past two weeks, Mr Hennessy said, a growing number of staff had walked out or been fired and escorted from the resort, while staff from Mr Palmer's company, Mineralogy, had been on site issuing desperate edicts in a bid to reduce the financial losses.

Mr Hennessy said two top managers were suspended after trying to defend themselves against a tirade of abuse.

He claimed that the bell attendants were doubling up as cleaners, the chefs were doubling up as waiters, and an IT manager had been delegated to work in the resort's souvenir store.

Mr Hennessy claimed that on another occasion, Mr Palmer said to the resort's driveway staff who greet guests and carry their luggage "why are you standing around doing nothing, you're a bunch of lazy c . . ts".

Mr Hennessy said: "If he had remorse about (his behaviour), it would mean he cared for people. He doesn't care about anyone but himself."