Billionaire, premier to learn their fates in defamation verdict

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan and billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer will on Tuesday find out who defamed who during a high-profile spat that raged during the thick of the coronavirus pandemic.

Federal Court Justice Michael Lee will hand down his verdict at the Melbourne Federal Court at 11.30am WST (1.30pm AEST) – two years since the legal action began and three months since both parties made their closing submissions.

The defamation action was brought on by Clive Palmer in 2020.Credit:Jo Gay

Palmer launched the defamation action following a war of words between the two men from April to September 2020, which Palmer said, “hurt his feelings” and damaged his reputation.

McGowan counter-sued, saying Palmer defamed him in advertising and media interviews.

The men clashed publicly, often about Palmer’s attempts to enter WA while its COVID hard border was in place, and legislation the McGowan government passed to prevent Palmer bringing a $30 billion damages claim against the state over a stalled iron ore project.

Palmer is seeking aggravated damages which would allow for a payout above the $432,500 cap.

However, in the final days of hearings, Lee flagged it was likely the costly court case would result in nominal damages to both parties.

Lee said McGowan and Palmer were political combatants with entrenched reputations.

“There are people who love them, people who hate them,” he said.

“The publications themselves are, it seems to me, highly unlikely to change very settled views about these men.”

Defamation trials are supposed to restore the reputation of complainants, but this one seemingly had the opposite effect on anyone who sat in the witness box.

Palmer gave extraordinary testimony during his cross-examination that he thought the “anti-Palmer” legislation gave McGowan a James Bond-style “licence to kill”, and led him to fear for his life.

McGowan’s lawyers ridiculed that statement but McGowan himself was forced to sit through an uncomfortable cross-examination.

Palmer’s lawyers went through text messages between McGowan and WA Attorney-General John Quigley in 2020 in excruciating detail.

The texts exposed locker room talk between the pair as they derided Palmer’s weight, describing him as a “big fat liar,” a “turd”, and “the fat man”.

The texts also offered a glimpse into McGowan’s relationship with media mogul Kerry Stokes.

A text message chain revealed McGowan alerted Stokes to the anti-Palmer legislation one minute before it was read into WA Parliament in 2020.

“Kerry, we’ve just introduced legislation to block a claim by Clive Palmer against the state of WA for $28 billion … The risk is too great … obviously he won’t be happy. I’ll call to discuss,” the message to Stokes read.

In the next three days, front pages on Stokes’ newspaper The West Australian depicted Palmer as Dr Evil, a cockroach, and a cane toad.

Stokes congratulated the premier and joked that the newspaper’s depiction of Palmer as a cockroach could be sold as an item for his WA-based charity.

“Mark, well done,” Stokes texted. “I think no one else could have achieved that legislation in the speed you did. Reckon the insect heads should make a Telethon sales item. People are with you!”

Quigley did not escape a cringeworthy cross-examination either.

He was forced to fly back to Sydney in April at taxpayers’ expense to redo his evidence after admitting mistakes in his earlier testimony.

Quigley was a veteran criminal lawyer before entering parliament, but Lee tore into his effort as a witness, describing his evidence as “all over the shop”.

The blunders prompted questions from the WA opposition over Quigley’s ability for his ministerial role.

The defamation bid is one of several legal challenges Mr Palmer has pursued against the WA premier since 2020, including a failed bid in the High Court to have the state’s hard border closure deemed unconstitutional.

With AAP

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