Clive Palmer suffers blow in $30 billion WA damages claim
Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer has suffered a big blow in his $30 billion iron ore fight against the WA Government, with the state’s Attorney-General John Quigley claiming Palmer has had his legal position “considerably weakened”.
Clive Palmer's planned coal mine has already received strong opposition (Photo: AAP Image/Jeremy Piper)
The Queensland Supreme Court has overturned a previous decision in the state that could have thwarted WA’s efforts to end the bitter legal fight.
The ruling is unlikely to be the end of the matter, with Palmer still free to challenge WA’s actions over the bitter fight in the High Court.
Quigley said Palmer’s case was “dead as a doormat” under the latest ruling.
The legal wrangling relates to Palmer’s demands for around $30 billion in compensation as a result of the WA Government’s initial refusal to allow him to develop the Balmoral South iron ore project in the Pilbara region.
The WA Parliament passed unprecedented legislation to terminate Palmer’s claim earlier this year, leading to a flurry of lawsuits in multiple states from the Mineralogy boss.
One of those was in Queensland, where he won a ruling that the arbitration awards at the centre of the ruling should be “enforced”.
That was potentially crucial to the fight, as it called into question whether WA legislation could overturn a court ruling by another state.
But in a decision handed down on Wednesday, the WA Government had a victory, with the Queensland Supreme Court overturning the previous ruling.
Quigley said it was a big win for the state, arguing it had effectively killed off Palmer’s claim.
“It is dead, dead as a doormat,” he told ABC Radio Perth.
“I am so relieved, and all Western Australians should be so relieved that we’ve had another massive win over this Mr Palmer.”
The ruling will not prevent Palmer from challenging WA’s legislation in the High Court, something the mining billionaire has signalled he will seek to do.
“But this win in Queensland considerably weakens his case,” Quigley said.
The legislation, passed in August, terminated Palmer’s claim and prevented him launching fresh legal proceedings about the issue.
Palmer has been contacted for comment about the latest ruling.
He has previously likened WA’s legislation to the actions of the North Korean dictatorship, arguing it was unjustified and unconstitutional.
“The Act destroys Western Australia’s reputation as a place where the rule of law applied,” he said in August.
“What Western Australia has done for the first time in 60 years is to destroy the sanctity of state agreements.”
Palmer still has multiple pending lawsuits related to that legislation.
But he failed in his High Court challenge to WA’s hard border closure, having argued that policy was unconstitutional.
– ABC / Jacob Kagi
