Billionaire businessman Clive Palmer has been unable to postpone a massive federal government lawsuit over the liquidation of his Townsville nickel refinery.

July 16, 2019

Billionaire businessman Clive Palmer’s last-minute legal bid to postpone a massive multi-million dollar lawsuit against him over the collapse of Queensland Nickel has failed.

The former federal MP applied for the trial to be cancelled before it even started because his expert witness Peter Dinoris was ill and could no longer take the stand.

But Justice Debra Mullins was having none of it, saying the trial would go ahead on Tuesday as planned.

Mr Palmer is defending a federal government lawsuit against him and nephew Clive Mensink over the liquidation of his Townsville refinery which left hundreds without a job.

Government-appointed liquidators of QN are trying to claw back about $200 million owed to creditors after it shut down in early 2016.

Mr Palmer argued he would need time to find a replacement for Mr Dinoris, an insolvency expert.

Due to the complex nature of the case and many businesses involved it would take weeks for the replacement to get up to speed, he said.

Justice Mullins was sympathetic to Mr Palmer’s concerns and directed that expert witnesses would be heard at the end of the 45-day trial, rather than in the second week as planned. 

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

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

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

Mr Palmer is representing himself.