Palmer asks High Court to shut down probe

Clive Palmer has started a High Court bid to try to stop the public examination of the collapse of Queensland Nickel.

Businessman Clive Palmer

Clive Palmer is set to return to court for a third day over the demise of Queensland Nickel. (AAP)

Clive Palmer has started a High Court bid to halt his public grilling over the collapse of Queensland Nickel.

It is the former businessman's third attempt to stop giving evidence at the Federal Court hearing in Brisbane where liquidators are trying to show he acted as a shadow director of the doomed company.

Mr Palmer has repeatedly denied he was "personally" responsible for the day-to-day management of QN's Townsville refinery and only gave instructions as chairman of the governing joint venture committee.

The committee was made up of two people, Mr Palmer and his nephew Clive Mensink, and Mr Palmer had authority to represent the whole committee.

Mr Mensink was also the managing director of QN who was receiving the instructions from Mr Palmer.

If Mr Palmer is found to have been a shadow director, he could be held liable for some of the company's $300 million debts.

Mr Palmer's application for an interim injunction is due to be heard in the High Court on Thursday afternoon as his testimony continues.

It is understood Mr Palmer will challenge the "constitutionality" Federal Court proceedings, which has already heard from other key players including chief financial officer Daren Wolfe.

Mr Palmer told the Federal Court on Thursday morning allegations QN knew it could not pay its debts by September 2015 were "bulls***".

"To have a shortfall of $14 million in a month or a week is hardly systemic," he said.

The former federal MP said the big four banks denied QN a $25 million overdraft in October because the Queensland and Australian governments had sought to bring him down politically.

But overall this didn't matter because Mr Palmer claimed the joint venture could have covered the company's "trivial debt" at any time but wanted to see if it could "stand on its own feet".

"It clearly indicated something funny was going on when you have that kind of security and the banks don't offer you a loan," Mr Palmer said.

"In reality it is just corruption at its highest level."

Mr Palmer also said he didn't think it was necessary to put up his personal assets as security for the overdraft because the joint ventures $1.95 billion assets should have been sufficient.

He also said he had read about insolvent trading in books and the Australian Financial Review newspaper but "didn't fully understand" the concept in the latter half of 2015 when QN's finances were tumbling.

Mr Palmer also claimed he did not know beforehand that more than 200 workers would be made redundant in January 2016 because it was Mr Mensink's decision.


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Source: AAP



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