Clive’s crook Palmer slams ‘witch-hunt’
CLUTCHING a vomit bag, using a breathing apparatus and struggling to speak, an ill Clive Palmer has been granted an adjournment of his Federal Court testimony.
Claiming a “political witchhunt”, Mr Palmer complained he was dragged into court yesterday despite being heavily medicated for pancreatitis.
The former MP was ordered to attend by Federal Court Justice John Dowsett to be questioned by lawyers for the special purpose liquidators of Queensland Nickel over the whereabouts of his globetrotting nephew, Clive Mensink.
Mr Palmer had failed to attend court in Brisbane on Tuesday, claiming he was too sick, and yesterday appeared unwell while giving evidence about Mr Mensink’s movements since Queensland Nickel’s collapse last year.
Upon arriving at the hearing, Mr Palmer said he had taken the opioid Targin, also known as oxycodone, and said it caused memory problems.
“This is not about Queensland Nickel, this is whether a citizen under medication, which are narcotics, which require to be signed off in an act, should be dragged into court to give evidence and whether he can give evidence, because I can’t remember my Amex PIN number, for example,” he said. “This is just a confirmation that this is a political witch-hunt.”
Mr Palmer clutched a breathing device and a vomit bag as his barrister, Andrew Boe, warned Justice Dowsett his client had ingested the morphine-based painkillers and was uncertain he could give accurate evidence.
“All he has to do is to do his best,” Justice Dowsett replied.
After hearing Mr Palmer had not spoken to his nephew since February, Justice Dowsett adjourned proceedings to next Tuesday.