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Home / Business / Companies / Media and marketing

'Make Australia great' billionaire Clive Palmer's NZ office is almost empty

news.com.au
23 Jan, 2019 07:58 PM4 mins to read

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Australian billionaire and politician Clive Palmer has opened a controversial office in Auckland. Photo/Getty Images.

Australian billionaire and politician Clive Palmer has opened a controversial office in Auckland. Photo/Getty Images.

Clive Palmer has opened a controversial new office in New Zealand as part of his complicated business dealings, but reports have emerged that it has been unoccupied and has virtually nothing in it.

The newly set up Auckland office is serving as headquarters for Palmer's flagship company Mineralogy International, which recently registered as a business in New Zealand.

Read more:
• Australian mining billionaire Clive Palmer shifts control of business empire to NZ
• Why billionaire Aussie miner Clive Palmer moved his empire to NZ

This is following Palmer's transfer of control of his business to different offshore companies as he attempts to stop government intervention in his legal stoush with a Chinese mining company.

The single office contains a chair, a desk and a small cabinet. The building houses 130 other small businesses along with Palmer's.

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It is apparently out of this small office that Palmer is running Mineralogy, which is funding the United Australia Party's noisy television, billboard and text message political campaign.

Palmer has been spending millions of dollars on costly television advertisements, text message spam and a bizarre online game.

Last year, Palmer announced he would have another crack at politics by launching the United Australia Party, with plans to run a candidate in every seat and to himself contest the Queensland seat of Herbert.

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The new headquarters were recently visited by a photographer for The Australian.

The UAP's primary slogan during a recent blitz of advertising has been "Make Australia Great". The leader of the UAP Party has previously dismissed suggestions that shifting control of his business to overseas businesses goes against a policy that might be based on the slogan "Make Australia great".

Clive Palmer’s new corporate headquarters is tiny and reportedly unoccupiedClive Palmer’s new office in New Zealand appears unoccupied and has virtually nothing in it. Picture Supplied https://t.co/2UQX0UsSb9 pic.twitter.com/GmftUQVz00

— NzuchiTimes USA (@NzuchiTimesUSA) January 23, 2019

"Australians invest throughout the world and I've invested in New Zealand," Palmer told The Australian, going on to explain that he had encouraged the company to "invest in Australia".

From his new office in New Zealand, Palmer has vowed to launch a legal action against the WA Government if the state's Premier legislates in favour of Citic, a Chinese government owned mining company who are leasing a tract in the Pilbara from Mineralogy.

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Palmer is in dispute with Citic about hundreds of millions of dollars in payments; while Citic are trying to force Palmer to make more land available for mining at the site at Cape Preston.

Palmer has said if the WA government intervenes in his high court battle and rules against him, he will sue for compensation. This could cost taxpayers $45 billion, according to Palmer.

He also last year made clear his intentions to run for the seat of Herbert in Townsville, Queensland, which is marginally held by Labor.

Election analyst and ABC commentator Antony Green has rated Palmer's political chances in the seat of Herbert as "nil".

"Independents and minor parties don't win marginal seats — that's the rough rule," Green told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Palmer has been saturating television screens with ads for his party, one of which earned him a threat of legal actions by rock band Twisted Sister, who claim he's using one of their hit songs without permission.

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This month he launched a bizarre mobile phone game titled Humble Meme Merchant that also included a takeoff of Culture Club hit Karma Chameleon.

Boy George's manager Paul Kemsley told the ABC the usage was "a clear copyright infringement" and said record label BMG would be taking up the matter.

"Boy George's song and art would never be used to endorse any political campaign," Kemsley said. "I'm horrified at the treatment of one of the biggest-selling songs of all time."

Palmer ran a nickel refinery in the area from 2009 to 2016, when it entered into voluntary administration, resulting in the loss of jobs for hundreds of workers.

He has vowed to reopen the Queensland mine and says he is registered as living in Townsville, despite being too busy tow live full time in the area.

The major employer closed with debts of US$300 million, which liquidators are attempting to claw back in a Supreme Court trial.

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This month, Palmer rubbished claims from former employees that they are still owed salaries and entitlements and described it as "fake news".

"It's public record that most of the Queensland Nickel workers have been paid everything they're owed," he said.

News.com.au reached out to the United Australia Party for comment.

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