Clive Palmer takes to Twitter to rail against ‘outrageous’ legal indemnity for former Premier Mark McGowan

Clive Palmer has lashed the “outrageous” indemnity provided to Mark McGowan by the WA Government, claiming the move to shield the former Premier from legal costs associated with cases brought by the billionaire was “bigger than the Brittany Higgins scandal”. Finance Minister Sue Ellery revealed the unusual legal protection to Parliament on Tuesday, arguing it was justified given Mr Palmer’s deep pockets and extensive history of lawsuits targeting Mr McGowan. While serving ministers and public servants have long been indemnified by the government over actions taking as part of their work duties, it is not standard practice for those protections to remain in place once they have departed. In a series of tweets on Thursday, Mr Palmer said the recently retired Premier was being treated as if he was “above the law”. “It is an outrageous situation that McGowan is being indemnified against future legal costs in matters against me,” Mr Palmer said. “Not anywhere else in the world is someone indemnified. Not Donald Trump, not Boris Johnson not even Prince Andrew. “Yet we see that Labor in WA has put Mark McGowan above the law. “This is unprecedented that tax payer funds will be used to protect Mark McGowan against any future legal costs. “The principle of good government is lost forever in WA, with so many scandals even bigger than the Brittany Higgins scandal playing out before us, with Federal Labor seemingly playing a big part.” Mr McGowan’s indemnity does not extend to improper conduct but means the State Government will fund his reasonable costs in defending future matters brought by Mr Palmer, as well as any damages awarded against him. “Throughout history, there has been a steadfast principle of indemnifying public servants and public officials in the discharge of their official responsibilities,” Ms Ellery said on Tuesday. “This principle recognises the importance of allowing individuals to fulfil their duties without fear of personal liability or persecution. “Our government believes that now he is retired from public life, the former premier should continue to be provided with the appropriate legal protection from a potential future Clive Palmer legal action, given the lengths he was prepared to go to protect the interests of all Western Australians.” Mr Palmer launched dozens of lawsuits against the WA Government and Mr McGowan personally after the 2020 introduction of laws that effectively extinguished the Queenslander’s right to arbitration over a $30 billion claim relating to his iron ore interests in WA. That included suing Mr McGowan for defamation following weeks of verbal barbs between the two men. The case — which ended in both parties being awarded a relative pittance in damages after racking up millions in legal fees — was harshly criticised by the Federal Court judge presiding over the matter as a waste of time and resources.