THE AUSTRALIAN

RACHEL BAXENDALE

In a rare instance, the full bench of the High Court adjourned for just five minutes after hearing evidence before returning to deliver their verdict.

“The court is unanimously of the view that the answer to the questions before it is no,” Justice Susan Kiefel said.

The court ruled that Mr Palmer and the former director of his collapsed company Queensland Nickel, Ian Ferguson, pay costs to the company’s liquidators.

Justice Kiefel earlier hinted at the judges’ verdict, telling counsel for Mr Ferguson Pat Zappia QC that the “role of inquisitor” was “hardly a novel position for a court to take”.

“Courts have been asking questions I think since the 12th Century,” she said.

Justice Kiefel adjourned the case until tomorrow morning, when the judges will outline their orders.

Having faced days of intense public examination by liquidators in the Federal Court, along with Mr Ferguson and other former directors and executives of Queensland Nickel, Mr Palmer had been seeking to have the High Court rule that federal laws which required him to appear were unconstitutional.

Had the court found in Mr Palmer’s favour, it would not only have ended the liquidators’ Federal Court inquisition of him, but had massive ramifications for Australian corporations law.

Mr Palmer was due to be questioned by former Queensland solicitor general Walter Sofronoff QC on behalf of the liquidator last month, but that hearing has been postponed until after today’s hearing.

Mr Palmer had been present in court this morning, having arrived in a Bentley with his wife and daughter, but was absent for the decision.

One Nation Senator Rod Culleton, who has had his eligibility for election referred to the High Court, also attended Mr Palmer’s case briefly, but did not appear to speak to anyone else in the public gallery.

During a lunchtime adjournment, Mr Palmer refused to apologise to Jewish groups offended by his comparison this morning between the Federal Court requiring him to undergo public examination and Nazi Germany.

“It’s quite true. This is the sort of inquiry that I thought was like that,” he said.

Asked whether he wanted to apologise, Mr Palmer said, “No”.

“I think it is like that and that’s what happened. They had inquisitions of people quite unjustly, they abrogated their rights, they had no right to remain silent,” he said.

B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission Chairman Dvir Abramovich said it was outrageous for Mr Palmer to compare Australia’s laws to the monstrous laws enacted by the Third Reich.

“By using this inappropriate and deeply offensive analogy, Clive Palmer betrays and ignorance of what really happened in Nazi Germany,” Dr Abramovich said.

At a press conference at Canberra’s Hyatt Hotel this morning ahead of the hearing, Mr Palmer accused the federal government and Victorian, Queensland, South Australian and New South Wales governments, whose Attorneys-General have intervened in the matter of “trying to crush the rights of citizens in this country so that they have to answer questions under compulsion of jailing”.

“Similar laws did apply in Nazi Germany,” Mr Palmer said.

He argued the fact that Acting Chief Justice Susan Kiefel has deemed the case worthy of a High Court hearing is evidence that his case has merit.

“The real issue is the courts of the country shouldn’t be inquisitive in nature. They should deal with disputes,” Mr Palmer said.

“So for example if a court is going to inquire into something, be in charge of that sort of function, and then sit in judgment of it, there’s a great conflict of interest. Now that goes back to Nazi Germany, and you remember when the people that tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler were dragged before the courts and there was an inquisition done on them, they didn’t know the charges against them and they ended up being executed by the Nazi regime. These laws are totally unAustralian.”

Mr Palmer claimed he had faced no consequences as a result of the collapse of Queensland Nickel, which sacked 800 Townsville workers before falling into liquidation in April, because he had done nothing wrong.

Australian law like Nazi Germany

Earlier, Mr Palmer compared the law which requires corporate criminals to submit to public examination with those Adolf Hitler applied in Nazi Germany, and drawn parallels between himself and Donald Trump.

Mr Palmer is today asking the High Court to rule that federal laws which require “Australians who have not been charged with an offence to appear before a court and to be forced to answer questions” are unconstitutional.

Should the court rule in Mr Palmer’s favour, it will not only kill a Federal Court inquisition of Mr Palmer by liquidators of his Queensland Nickel company, which collapsed owing creditors $300 million, but have massive ramifications for Australian corporations law.

At a press conference at Canberra’s Hyatt Hotel this morning ahead of the hearing, Mr Palmer accused the federal government and Victorian, Queensland, South Australian and New South Wales governments, whose Attorneys-General have intervened in the matter, urging the court to rule against him, of “trying to crush the rights of citizens in this country so that they have to answer questions under compulsion of jailing”.

“Similar laws did apply in Nazi Germany,” Mr Palmer said.

He argued the fact that Acting Chief Justice Susan Kiefel has deemed the case worthy of a High Court hearing is evidence that his case has merit.

“The real issue is the courts of the country shouldn’t be inquisitive in nature. They should deal with disputes,” Mr Palmer said.

“So for example if a court is going to inquire into something, be in charge of that sort of function, and then sit in judgment of it, there’s a great conflict of interest. Now that goes back to Nazi Germany, and you remember when the people that tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler were dragged before the courts and there was an inquisition done on them, they didn’t know the charges against them and they ended up being executed by the Nazi regime. These laws are totally unAustralian.”

Mr Palmer claimed he had faced no consequences as a result of the collapse of Queensland Nickel, which sacked 800 Townsville workers before falling into liquidation in April, because he had done nothing wrong.

He claimed an ongoing Australian Securities and Investments Commission investigation into his business was only proceeding because The Australian’s investigative journalist Hedley Thomas had “got them investigating”.

“That’s all. And I’m here. I’m quite calm. I’m not running away from anything,” Mr Palmer said.

“It’s about the beat-up. It’s the same thing that they did to Donald Trump in America because they don’t want anything to happen.”

“The reason that Queensland Nickel decided to go into administration was because of the Nickel price went down by 60 per cent.

“That’s a normal risk in business. And you’ve seen Donald Trump in the United States. He’s been bankrupt five times. He’s the President of the United States. I have never been bankrupt. There’s no charges against me.”

Mr Palmer was asked about the whereabouts of his nephew, the former director of Queensland Nickel Clive Mensink.

Mr Mensink left Australia in June, making him unavailable to be served with a summons to give evidence to a public examination of the corporate collapse of Queensland Nickel in the Federal Court.

“He’s having a nice holiday,” Mr Palmer said.

“He’s enjoying himself like he always was. I think he’s having a good time, and so he should.

“Your innuendo is saying that he had something to do with (800 people losing their jobs). This is just not true. Untrue. A lie which was designed to discredit me personally, just like Mr Trump has been discredited in the United States.”

Mr Palmer disputed the Mr Mensink was avoiding scrutiny by being overseas, and said he was funding his own trip.

“He’s paying for it, but I’m happy to contribute to it if he needs any money he can always contact me. I’m happy to do that.

Mr Palmer and fellow former directors and executives of Queensland Nickel have been subject to days of heated public examination by liquidators in the Federal Court.

Mr Palmer was due to be questioned by former Queensland solicitor general Walter Sofronoff QC on behalf of the liquidator last month, but that hearing has been postponed until after today’s hearing.

Under Australia’s Corporations Act, liquidators of collapsed companies are entitled to publicly examine company officers and can apply to question other parties, such as creditors, auditors and lawyers.

The examinations are a fact-finding exercise used by liquidators to inform their pursuit of money owed to creditors, and to identify whether directors may have committed corporate offences.

Liquidators can also demand documents be handed over.

Witnesses in public examinations can claim privilege against self-incrimination, to ensure their testimony is not used against them as evidence if they are prosecuted for offences at a later point.

While in the witness box during his Federal Court hearing, Mr Palmer regularly claimed privilege.

He has denied any wrongdoing in the collapse of Queensland Nickel.