Palmer’s builders reveal big jetty plans

QUEENSLAND’S richest man Clive Palmer has asked for special permission to build one of Brisbane’s largest private home jetties to moor his yacht by his riverside mansion.

Records show his builders, Coastal Pontoon & Jetty Repairs, asked Brisbane City Council for a development permit for “tidal works” at Palmer’s Fig Tree Pocket home – but “the proposed pontoon is significantly larger than the dimensions and areas” that BCC considers acceptable.

The deck area of the pontoon being proposed would be more than three times as big as BCC’S current “acceptable outcome”, according to the application, and measure 84 sqm instead of 25 sqm.

Also, the length of the pontoon (28m) would be nearly three times that of the current “acceptable” 10m length.

The application said “the proposal seeks approval to replace the existing pontoon attached to the premise and add a second pontoon deck to create a longer structure to accommodate the private vessel used by (Mr Palmer)”.

It said “the pontoon has been designed to accommodate the landowner’s private vessel, which has a maximum length of 23m, 5.5m width and 1.6m depth”.

Mr Palmer’s property has 131.5m river frontage, it said, and currently has “a rock revetment wall and a boat ramp and an existing pontoon”.

The application acknowledged that “the proposal cannot meet AO2.1 of the code” but argued it met performance outcomes.

Mr Palmer bought the Fig Tree Pocket home for $7.5 million from Linc Energy founder, Peter Bond, in 2018.