Rod Culleton given more time to get financial affairs in order ahead of bankruptcy ruling appeal
Updated
Disqualified West Australian senator Rod Culleton has been granted more time to get his financial affairs in order.
Mr Culleton was stripped of his status as a senator after he was declared bankrupt in December.
The Federal Court will hear his application to appeal against the ruling next Friday.
The court has also agreed to prevent any attempt to seize Mr Culleton's assets for another week.
Senate President Stephen Parry has begun the process of replacing Mr Culleton in the senate.
But outside court today Mr Culleton said he still believed he was a senator.
"Absolutely, why wouldn't I be?" he said.
"The powerball is still in the air so I think the President of the Senate owes me an apology in the sense of jumping the gun."
The bankruptcy case was brought against Mr Culleton by former Wesfarmers executive Dick Lester.
In orders made today, Federal Court Chief Justice James Allsop said next Friday's hearing would decide whether Mr Culleton's appeal against the bankruptcy ruling would be heard.
He made it clear that even if the court agreed to hear the appeal, the question of whether Mr Culleton was bankrupt would be heard at a later date.
"For the avoidance of doubt, if the appeal is allowed and if the sequestration order is set aside, any further consideration of the question of whether the appellant is or was on 23 December, 2016 solvent or of whether the creditor's petition is an abuse of process and whether or not the creditor's petition should be dismissed will not be heard on 27 January 2017," Justice Allsop said.
Topics: courts-and-trials, government-and-politics, federal-parliament, perth-6000
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