[8] Palmer also attempted to use litigation as a gag order against his workers in his now defunct Queensland Nickel refinery, promising to pay the money he owed them only if they agreed not to make any disparaging comments about him.

[30] Palmer declined to pay the entitlements of workers who lost their jobs when Queensland Nickel closed, stating that "I have no personal responsibility, I retired from business over three years ago".

[32] In April 2019 Palmer announced that he intended to re-open the Queensland Nickel refinery and pay the $7.16 million still owed to workers following the 2019 federal election.

[33] The Special Purpose Liquidator of Queensland Nickel stated that Palmer's offer was inadequate as it did not cover the money owed to small businesses and was unclear whether he would repay the Federal Government.

[32] The Australian Government was also seeking to recover $70 million from Palmer personally to meet the costs of the payments it made to Queensland Nickel workers through the same trial.

[37] In 2017, the ABC reported that "once regarded as one of south-east Queensland's most prestigious resorts, the site is a shadow of its former self and has been the centre of a legal battle between retirees who own villa shares and Clive Palmer".

[41] In 2018 the Australian Securities and Investments Commission charged Palmer with violations of the Corporation Act in relation to an attempt to take over timeshare villas at the resort in 2012.

[43] In October 2009, he made a decision to cap attendances of Gold Coast United home games at Skilled Park stadium to 5,000,[44] in a bid to save money by avoiding transport subsidies on crowds over 5,000.

[44] On 29 February 2012, Ben Buckley and Frank Lowy announced that Palmer's licence for Gold Coast United FC was to be revoked for constant breaches of FFA rules and regulations and sought to pay out the contracts of the players for the remaining month of the season.

[50] No construction had been ordered in the Chinese shipyard identified as the likely building site with the workers highly skeptical that the project would ever move beyond the proposal stage.

[51] In May 2016 it was reported by the administrators for an insolvent Palmer company, Queensland Nickel, that no significant money had been spent on the development of Titanic II in over two years.

Citing the COVID-19 Pandemic as a major factor, prior plans for the ship did not push through, while promising the contract tender for the construction released and signed by June and December 2024, respectively.

[54][55] In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading in Australia, Palmer placed a prominent media advertisement offering to personally fund one million doses of a "cure" for the disease.

Other experts also criticised Palmer, concerning safety as well as the ethics of potentially producing a shortage of the drug in countries where it is needed to combat malaria.

[63] In July 2020, Palmer claimed that the closing of the borders by the Western Australian government owing to the COVID-19 pandemic was unconstitutional and challenged the WA legislation in the Federal Court.

[64] Palmer also claimed that the border closure would "destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands of people for decades" and compared the death toll of COVID-19 with that of road accidents and influenza.

[78] In December 2012, Palmer was appointed joint secretary general of the World Leadership Alliance, a new democracy-promoting council that included former US president Bill Clinton and Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

[81] In July 2013, Palmer was referred to in an iPhone application as making light of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard by having sandwiches thrown at her.

News Corp Australia publications were critical of the app, calling it sexist, while referring to his weight in an opinion poll with an option saying "We should have one for big Clive Palmer".

The memes often have nonsensical or ironic undertones, and contain reoccurring themes – such as Rupert Murdoch's control of the media in Australia, contrasting himself with other political figures such as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, or paying homage to Tim Tam packets and his pet "Grog Dog".

[89][90] In September 2019, Palmer threatened to sue internet comedian Jordan Shanks for $500,000 for defamation relating to a YouTube video posted before the May 2019 election.

[97] In late April 2012, Palmer announced that he would contest Liberal National Party preselection for the Division of Lilley at the 2013 federal election, held by Wayne Swan, the then Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer.

In his maiden speech to federal parliament, Palmer implied that the government was "deaf to the everyday struggles of all Australians" and stated that "the entrenchment of the two-party system in this country not only threatens democracy but destroys the creativity of the nation.

[126] During the campaign for the 2020 Queensland state election, at which the United Australia Party endorsed 55 candidates, Palmer is estimated to have spent about $8 million in advertising.

[127] Palmer disputed Twisted Sister's claim that they held any copyright over the portion of the song used in the advertisements, as he composed the lyrics and the melody was derived from "O Come, All Ye Faithful".

[140] At a press conference on 19 February 2025, Palmer announced that he had joined Trumpet of Patriots, following the High Court ruling that he would be unable to register the United Australia Party (UAP) for the 2025 federal election after its voluntary de-registration in 2022.

[142][143] In March 2020, Palmer appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court to answer four charges of fraud and other dishonesty, brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

News Limited reports that property records reveal "Mr Palmer, his family and associates own a total of 11 homes in the Sovereign Islands, a gated enclave developed on reclaimed land on the banks of the Southport Broadwater."

[148] As of August 2020, he reportedly owns three adjoining houses in Fig Tree Pocket, costing $17.5m and on more than four hectares of land fronting the Brisbane River.

[157] On 28 February 2022 it was reported that Palmer had purchased Adolf Hitler's Mercedes-Benz 770, and a Rolls-Royce once owned by King Edward VIII, to become part of a collection for a planned vintage car museum in Queensland.