Billionaire businessman Clive Palmer says he has a moral responsibility to fight a $200 million claim over the collapse of his Queensland Nickel business.

July 15, 2019

Clive Palmer says he’s got a moral responsibility to fight a massive federal government lawsuit over the liquidation of his Townsville nickel refinery.

Government-appointed liquidators of Queensland Nickel brought the former federal MP to Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday in a bid to claw back hundreds of millions of dollars owed to creditors over the collapse in early 2016.

Outside the court, the billionaire businessman described the claim as “ridiculous” and said he would continue to fight for the hundreds of workers who have lost jobs.

“I’ve got a moral responsibility not to give up,” he told reporters.

“It’s (for) the greater good.”

Mr Palmer said liquidators across the country were acting “unconscionably” and he was working for the public’s benefit.

“People all across Australia are having trouble now with liquidators and receivers,” he said.

It’s taken more than two years, three judges and countless adjournments to get Mr Palmer into court for the trial.

However in its first hours, Justice Debra Mullins agreed to adjourn proceedings so the warring parties could continue talks.

The trial will recommence on Tuesday but first the court will consider Mr Palmer’s last-minute legal bid to postpone it because an expert defence witness was reportedly “incapacitated”.

Court documents lodged last Thursday say former liquidator Peter Dinoris is unavailable to testify that Mr Palmer had not acted as a shadow director or traded while insolvent, The Australian has reported.

If the trial is not delayed, Mr Palmer argues he will be denied natural justice and suffer “very significant prejudice”.

The liquidators’ 280-page claim, first lodged in the court in June 2017, names 21 defendants, including Mr Palmer’s nephew Clive Mensink and a string of Mr Palmer’s companies.

The special purpose liquidators’ task includes trying to recover almost $70 million in taxpayer funds used to cover unpaid entitlements to about 800 workers sacked from the refinery.

Mr Palmer has fought hard to have the claim dismissed over the past two years, having described it as baseless and a desperate politically-motivated attack by the government.

The trial is expected to run for 45 days before Justice Mullins, who took over proceedings after Justices John Bond and David Jackson recused themselves.

Mr Palmer is representing himself during the trial.