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The new Iron Ore Processing (Mineralogy Pty Ltd) Agreement Amendment Act which was rushed through parliament last week was an absolute disgrace and against the fabric to exercise lawful rights, Clive Palmer said.

“This new Act effectively gives Mark McGowan and John Quigley exemptions from criminal and civil liability,’’ Mr Palmer said.

“No citizen in WA is exempt from criminal or civil liability so why should politicians be exempt?”

Mr Palmer said serious questions must be asked about whether the Act gave McGowan and his government a licence to take from the treasury.

“Is this the real reason for the Act?” he said.

“This Act amends a State Agreement for the first time in 60 years. It exempts the State from liabilities, removes appeal and excludes natural justice.

“All State Agreements in WA now have uncertainty. All companies with State Agreements will be worried and further investment in the state of WA is at risk,’’ Mr Palmer said.

“State Agreements are only relevant when everyone has confidence they won’t be manipulated for the government’s benefit.

“This Act should never have been accepted by the WA Government as arbitration on the matter was underway.

“The Act against me and my companies are unconstitutional and are against the ethics of freedom that so many Australians before us have died for in two world wars.

“We don’t need a Chinese or Soviet model of government where governments rule over the courts,’’ Mr Palmer said.

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In a wobbly start to the WA Government’s new Iron Ore Processing (Mineralogy Pty Ltd) Agreement Amendment Act which was rushed through parliament last week, the state has failed to have the registered Awards by the Queensland Supreme Court removed.

“The State of Western Australia has failed to set aside the order to remove the Awards made in the Queensland Supreme Court,’’ Clive Palmer said today.

Justice Martin agreed with Mineralogy Pty Ltd and International Minerals Pty Ltd to have the matter deferred to the 10^th of September.

“Justice Martin has allowed Mineralogy and International Minerals to produce more evidence around the validity of the new WA Act that is against our company exercising our lawful rights,’’ Mr Palmer said.

Mineralogy Pty Ltd was represented by Dominic O’Sullivan QC and

International Minerals Pty Ltd was represented by David Jackson QC in the matter.

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Once upon a time the Western Australian was a well-respect independent publication. It now has come under increasing financial pressure to somehow retain circulation so it’s attempting to do that by becoming a comic book.

The front pages over the last week have depicted me as a chicken, a cane toad and Dr Evil. This is a desperate effort to regain readership.

As a comic, it is interesting, colourful and shows that the paper has talented graphic artists. However, as a newspaper it has lost its purpose, credibility and now fails to inform readers who have a right to know the truth.

One must wonder if this change in editorial direction is a direct result of dramatic falling in circulation numbers and advertising revenue.

Unfortunately the journalists are becoming copywriters for the WA Government and will probably move into becoming advertising copywriters producing fruit can labels.

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Mark McGowan’s actions over the past two months have been a concerted effort to cover up his personal involvement in breaking the law. People must question why his Government has passed an Act which provided him and others with an exemption from criminal law.

Why was the Act passed in the Western Australian parliament which takes away the rights of the press and the Western Australian public to make FOI applications to find out what McGowan did?

The question for Western Australians is what did McGowan do to cause, as the Attorney General said, $30 billion dollars of lability for the State of Western Australia?  Why should McGowan or anyone else be exempt from the criminal law?

As well as seeking to destroy the rights of individuals and protect politicians from criminal law, the Act bans citizens taking to court any matter associated with the events and acts that caused the State to inflict substantial pain and damage on International Minerals and Mineralogy.  I am not and have never been a party to the arbitration. Why did McGowan attack me personally?

International Minerals was and ASX publicly-listed company with over 5,000 mum and dad shareholders. Any action by a state government to destroy the livelihoods of any of those people should not be beyond examination.

It is my position that McGowan personally destroyed their project. McGowan has focussed on the role of Colin Barnett.  It was Mark McGowan that acted beyond the power of the Government. The questions must be asked, did he do it to assist a foreign power? Did he act against Australia’s interest? Is that why he must be exempted from the criminal law?

With the Federal Court deciding matters of fact and their judgement likely to be made on 24 August, 2020, what was the emergency to get the Act passed in one day? Was it a State emergency or a Mark McGowan emergency?

Why does the Act purport to take from me and every citizen their rights for natural justice, their rights to have proper legal process in their own country? The act is more akin to the laws of China than Australia.

Why did McGowan provide for the Act to destroy the two Awards made by former High Court Judge Michael McHugh? Both Awards were against the Western Australian Government. Why was it that the Western Australian Supreme Court also ruled against the Western Australian Government?

Why was it that the Chief Law Officer of Western Australia and barrister of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, John Quigley, did not support the rule of law?

Betrayal of the rule of law and exemptions from the criminal law is not what Australia is about. In 1972 Richard Nixon won a landslide victory in the Presidential Election. He, like McGowan, had great public support. Nixon directed the greatest criminal cover up in history but he, unlike McGowan, was not supposedly exempt from the criminal law.

Eventually the High Court of Australia will decide the validly of the Act. In Australia we enjoy the separation of powers and the rule of law. The law has served our country well, it protects our values.  We have to fight to protect it.

God bless Australia.

Clive Palmer

Tradesman and building trainer Stephen Austin will contest Pine Rivers for Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party in the Queensland election.

A qualified Justice of the Peace, Stephen has an extensive background in the building and construction industry, working as a consultant in hazard identification, risk management, policies and procedures.

He is currently managing director of a company training apprentices in the construction industry.

“I believe young adults interested in becoming a tradie should be better assisted from Grade 10 and helped at school to follow their dreams,’’ Stephen said.

“I also believe both the current and previous governments pay too little attention to the elderly and people with disabilities in our community.

“I would like to see a program for the elderly to assist in the training of our youth in work skills and the ability to bridge the generations.

“Our governments fail to adequately assist small businesses in the community and there seems to be an almost total lack of manufacturing of Australian goods,’’ he said.

“There should be programs and assistance for these to get started again.  We need a government with real people representing the real voters.  I think a long term approach to climate change is also necessary.

“As politicians, we need to be accountable and regularly hold forums for people to ask questions and give opinions,’’ he said.

Happily married for 38 years and a father of three, Stephen has lived the majority of his live in Pine Rivers Shire.

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Premier Mark McGowan was proving himself to be the real menace to the people of Western Australia over his unreasonable coronavirus border closure, Clive Palmer said today.

“Mark ‘The Menace’ McGowan knows the mortality rate for West Australians hasn’t increased because of COVID-19 yet he continues to mislead the people of WA for political grand standing,’’ Mr Palmer said.

“There are other highly contagious viruses, for example Hepatitis B, which result in thousands of deaths every year. COVID-19 has claimed very few lives in WA, yet has led to unprecedented border closures and devastation to the economy,’’ Mr Palmer said.

“When the federal government stops JobSeeker and JobKeeper, WA will face very uncertain times. Mark McGowan is a menace for not opening the borders and leading the great state of Western Australia forward,’’ he said.

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WA Premier Mark McGowan had no jurisdiction for denying Queenslanders entry to the state, Clive Palmer said today.

“We haven’t had any COVID-19 cases for weeks now, yet the WA Premier keeps Queenslanders out of his state. This is discrimination,’’ he said.

Mr Palmer said that under WA legislation it was also almost impossible for Western Australians to visit Queensland for a holiday.

“The McGowan Government’s stance on borders means that Western Australians wishing to visit Queensland will be locked up for 14 days on their return plus pay the quarantine costs.

“He is responsible for halting commerce between Queensland and WA, tourism is suffering and so are the people.

“Legislation being introduced into the WA parliament is not constitutional. It denies trade between states.

“This isn’t surprising. We must remember that Western Australian Labor MP and Upper House Whip Pierre Yang, a former Chinese national, was found to have been affiliated with Chinese Communist Party Groups dedicated to extending the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in Australia.

“History will show that the WA Premier will be responsible for his state going backwards,’’ Mr Palmer said.

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The surge of new COVID-19 cases in Victoria was a direct result of the badly run Labor government, Clive Palmer said today.

“It started with allowing the Black Lives Matter march and the breakdown of social distancing, all with the backing and support of the Andrews Labor government,’’ Mr Palmer said.

“The large volumes of COVID-19 cases we are now seeing are because of a hopeless Labor government, which is having ramifications for the rest of the country.

“It is indicative of a Labor government in turmoil. The Federal Labor executive has recognised branch stacking is rife and we have seen Jackie Trad the subject of a corruption inquiry in Queensland, a state led by the most incompetent premier in its history.

“Queenslanders will inevitably throw Annastacia Palaszczuk out on election day, and she won’t be offered a corporate sector job once that happens because she is incapable of producing any tangible outcomes.

“The only reason the Queensland Premier has advanced in her political career is because of favours from the faceless Labor power brokers.

“Unions are free to spend whatever they want on the upcoming election campaign to get  Palaszczuk re-elected yet  she wants to muzzle any competitors who wish to add ideas and re-stimulate Queensland.

“I am Queensland’s richest person, valued by the rich list at $9 billion and I believe it is a sorry state affairs when I can’t spend my own money on  political ideas. This Labor government doesn’t want any political competition.’’ Mr Palmer said.

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Clive Palmer is proceeding with the High Court challenge of WA’s border closure following the lifting of similar bans in Queensland.

“I would expect Mark McGowan’s WA government to follow the decision of Annastacia Palaszczuk in Queensland and re-open the borders to domestic trade and travel,’’ Mr Palmer said.

“The people need to get back to work. Business and tourism are hurting badly and we must act fast before livelihoods are broken beyond repair.

“The WA Premier is using fearmongering on borders to try and strengthen his appeal, but the people of Western Australia can see through it.

“As Roosevelt famously said…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

“The continued closure of the WA border is unconstitutional and political grandstanding from Mark McGowan.

“WA desperately needs courage in leadership and the ability to rebuild the economy now. He should follow the lead of PM Scott Morrison who has done an outstanding job through the pandemic crisis,’’ Mr Palmer said.

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Clive Palmer said today he was pleased his High Court challenge on border closures had resulted in Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reopening the state.

“The decision the Palaszczuk Government has made is welcomed but it should have happened much earlier,’’ Mr Palmer said.

“The Premier has acted because she knows the High Court challenge which is likely to happen early next month would have resulted in the borders being opened.”

Mr Palmer said Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan should follow suit and open his borders immediately.

“The opening of borders should not be a political issue.

“Our state economies must keep growing and moving forward especially during the COVID-19 downturn and before JobKeeper ends.

“Thousands of jobs and livelihoods are in jeopardy while the WA border closures remain.

“This is crucial for the survival of the domestic economy and for the whole of Australia.

“There is no time to waste in getting people back to work and building prosperity,’’ Mr Palmer said.

“It is a matter of national importance that the borders be open.”

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