Clutching a vomit bag, using a breathing apparatus and struggling to speak, an ill Clive Palmer has been granted an adjournment of his Federal Court testimony until next week.
Claiming a political witch-hunt, Mr Palmer complained he was unfairly dragged into court on Wednesday despite being heavily medicated for pancreatitis.
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Sick Palmer 'dragged into court'
Clive Palmer says it is "extraordinary" that he is required to give evidence in court when his memory is being affected by the medication he is taking. 7 News Queensland
The former MP was ordered to attend by Federal Court Justice John Dowsett after failing to appear on Tuesday to be questioned by lawyers for the special purpose liquidators of Queensland Nickel over the whereabouts of his globe-trotting nephew Clive Mensink.
Mr Palmer had failed to attend court in Brisbane on Tuesday, claiming he was too sick, and on Wednesday he appeared to be unwell while giving evidence about Mr Mensink's movements since Queensland Nickel's collapse last year.
Arriving minutes before the scheduled hearing, Mr Palmer told reporters he had taken the opioid Targin, also known as oxycodone, only hours earlier and said it caused memory problems.
"This is not about Queensland Nickel, this is whether a citizen under medication, which are narcotics, which require to be signed off in an act, should be dragged into court to give evidence and whether he can give evidence, because I can't remember my Amex pin number for example," he told reporters.
"This is just a confirmation that this is a political witch-hunt."
Clutching a breathing device, a vomit bag and propped up with a pillow, Mr Palmer sat against the back of the courtroom as his barrister, Andrew Boe, warned Justice Dowsett his client had ingested the morphine-based painkillers and was uncertain he could give accurate evidence.
![Clive Palmer arrives at the Federal Court in Brisbane.](/web/20170514213846im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/1/w/9/h/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gw1ubs.png/1494421122977.jpg)
"All he has to do is to do his best," Justice Dowsett responded.
Mr Mensink has been overseas since last year, putting him out of the reach of liquidators who want to question him about the collapse of Queensland Nickel, leading to $300 million in debts and the loss of almost 800 jobs.
![Clive Palmer arrives in court on Wednesday.](/web/20170514213846im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/1/i/k/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gw1ubs.png/1494418890963.jpg)
Warrants were issued for his arrest in March when he didn't show up in court.
During Wednesday's hearing, Mr Palmer told the court he had agreed to pay for Mr Mensink to take two overseas cruises, prompting lawyers representing Queensland Nickel's liquidators to request he provide proof that he had purchased the tickets.
Mr Palmer also said his nephew had told him he was mentally distressed.
"He indicated he had a lot of problems," Mr Palmer said.
"Distressed, mentally upset, not physically.
"He said that the way he had been treated was a disaster. He said words to the effect he'd spent seven years keeping people employed and it wasn't fully appreciated.
"I said he should go and see a doctor and talk to him about his problems, then come back to Australia."
After 45 minutes, Mr Palmer requested a toilet break and proceeded to walk outside the courtroom and lie down once the hearing was adjourned.
He later told the court Mr Mensink had at one point considered not returning to Australia.
After hearing evidence that Mr Palmer had not spoken to his nephew since February, Justice Dowsett adjourned the proceedings to next Tuesday.
AAP