Roger Cook uses parliamentary privilege to launch fiery spray at Clive Palmer’s ‘greedy’ legal attack

WA Premier Roger Cook has used parliamentary privilege to slam billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer as a “greedy villain” for launching further “staggering” and “audacious” legal attacks. The State Labor leader’s blows come after a muted response to questions on Mr Palmer’s bid to sue Australia for $300 billion at a Burswood press conference earlier on Wednesday. The mining magnate is taking his latest court fight all the way to the Hague in the Netherlands in a battle that could conceivably cost every person in Australia $11,500. “A $300 billion claim is staggering, and it is audacious. It’s an outrage. These are the actions of a villain,” Mr Cook responded to a Dorothy Dixer question. “We all know that there is greed and then there is Clive Palmer. “Only Clive Palmer would try to sue his own country for $300 billion.” The Premier’s slashing of the billionaire in the Parliamentary chamber came after he told reporters earlier in the day that he had to be considered in commentary on the case. “In making any comment in relation to Clive Palmer, you’ll understand that. I’ll be extremely careful,” he had said. In 2020, the Queensland billionaire tried to sue WA for $30 billion in claims relating to iron ore interests in the Pilbara and his Mineralogy company. After two arbitrations had gone Mr Palmer’s way — the McGowan government introduced the secretly drafted Amendment Act, which was an unprecedented law to kill off Mr Palmer’s multi-billion-dollar claim against WA. “Clive Palmer is now sitting in the Hague claiming he’s owed 10 times that amount,” Mr Cook said. “To put that in perspective, that kind of money would propel Mr Palmer from one of Australia’s richest people — to one of the richest people in the world.” Mr Palmer has sought US $198,202,414,285 against Australia, due to alleged loss of a contractual entitlement, “sovereign risk” to other projects — and $10b in “moral damages”. He alleges government espionage, standover tactics and the leak of top-secret information set to be aired. Extraordinary, Mr Palmer is bringing forward the claims as a foreign national, using his Singapore-registered Zeph Investments in the multi-billion-dollar showdown in Holland. “He is now trying to sue the country as a Singaporean,” he said. “Since 2020, Clive Palmer has brought 15 separate legal actions against the State. “This is the man who established the United Australia party, a man who claims to love Australia (but) he’s suing it for all it’s worth.” The Premier vowed to “never give in” on the State’s fight against the litigation. “Western Australia standing up to Clive Palmer was the impetus for this week’s legal action. “We all remember when Clive Palmer tried to undermine WA’s strong position during the pandemic and took us to the High Court to drag down our borders failed. “I remember well. I was the health minister at the time, everything was at stake, our health, our economy, our jobs. “We will continue to support the Federal Government to stand up for all Australians in this latest case. “His legal attacks may never stop. But we will never give in to his demands.” In closing arguments to the three day hearing in Holland, lawyers for the federal government continued to attack Mr Palmer’s case — and his conduct — during the hearing he had called on. “What Australia has done ... is ask reputable, independent experts with decades of relevant experience to take an objective look at the behaviour of Mineralogy Mr. Palmer and Zeph,” Dr Naomi Hart said. “To see if they can make any sense of it at all in light of the rationales presented by the claimant. Uniformly they could not. “Instead, what we heard from Mr Palmer yesterday is that he hadn’t even read Australia’s evidence.” Australia’s solicitor general Stephen Donaghue KC said what Mr Palmer was really doing when he interposed the Singapore company into his company structure was not to raise finance or diversify his business interests. “(Those businesses) were going broke if they weren’t broke already. And at the time that they were acquired, no due diligence appears to have been conducted.” Mr Donaghue said. “The urgency that attended the incorporation of Zeph is only able to be explained by the fact that there was an imminent threat — as he saw it — of unilateral amendment of the state agreement to Mineralogy’s disadvantage.” The tribunal was due to finish on Wednesday evening.