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‘No time to wait’ to thwart Clive Palmer’s $30bn damages claim
In an unprecedented move, the Western Australian government introduced, discussed and passed legislation to protect the state from a $30 billion claim within just two days.
Naomi Neilson
An emergency legislation to protect the Western Australian government and its people from mining billionaire Mr Palmer’s $30 billion damages claim was passed incredibly quickly and without amendment late last week in an unprecedented move by the state.
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The legislation sought to amend a 2002 state agreement with Mr Palmer’s Mineralogy company and terminate arbitration between the two parties, amid fears Mr Palmer and his associated companies were seeking damages over a 2012 decision by the former government to not assess his proposed Balmoral South iron ore mine in the Pilbara.
Premier Mark McGowan said there was “no time to wait” to pass Iron Ore Processing (Mineralogy Pty Ltd) Agreement Amendment Bill legislation, which was argued for just 10 hours before Governor Kim Beazley signed it into law close to midnight.
“Can I thank the Parliament of Western Australia for passing this very, very important legislation,” Mr McGowan said. “The government has done what we can to protect [taxpayers] from Clive Palmer’s $30 billion claim which would have bankrupted our state.
“We’re very confident, and all the legal advice says, these laws will work. We’ve done something unprecedented, but we’ve done what we needed to protect [the] people of WA.”
Mr Palmer has filed an application in the Federal Court seeking to force the withdrawal of the legislation, but Mr McGowan said he was expecting this manoeuvre and assures the state that he is confident of their legal position as the new law was “solid”.
This comes after Attorney-General John Quigley tabled a letter from Mr Palmer which contained an offer to drop the High Court challenge against the state’s border closures in exchange for an arbitration hearing over a dispute to be moved to Canberra. The A-G said this letter exposed Mr Palmer as a “liar and fraudster” who did not care about the interests of Western Australian families.
