Australian PM to be sued for $7.7 m for defamation

A mining magnate, Clive Palmer says he plans to sue the Australian Prime Minister for 10 million Australian dollars (7.7 million dollars) for defamation, a media report said on Tuesday.

The former federal Member of Parliament claimed that after his company Queensland Nickel collapsed at the beginning of 2016, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull besmirched his name, along with the Employment Minister Michaelia Cash.

It added he also planned to sue for 250,000 Australian dollars (191,900 dollars).

“They’ve lied to people about Queensland Nickel and my role in it.

“They’ve said things designed to damage me, personally, in the public’s eyes, which were not true and they did that for political reasons,’’ Clive Palmer told newsmen.

Report says Palmer will face court in Brisbane on Wednesday, where liquidators will question the fall of Queensland Nickel, which had a debt value of 300 million Australian dollars (230 million dollars) and left 800 workers jobless.

According to the report, there is still a chance Palmer could face criminal charges for the matter.