To say that Clive Palmer is neck deep in shit at the moment would be the understatement of the century.
The Palmer United Party head honcho is facing a raft of allegations of massive fraud and funding misappropriation, following a corporate autopsy report into the collapse of Queensland Nickel.
The report asserts that Palmer moved some $224million in funding from QN into his own financial interests via a series of increasingly bonkers loans, funnelling the money into his own company Mineralogy, his aviation and property interests, his beyond-crazy scheme to build the Titanic II, and even just into his own leisure pursuits.
In fact, of the $224million loaned out to Palmer, only $22million was repaid, with QN simply forgiving the bulk of the remaining debt.
So it’s fair to suggest that to avoid utter catastrophe (and the ATO coming at him like a freight train), Palmer’s in dire need of cash. Quick.
And thus, overnight a curious listing on Gumtree has appeared, advertising a swathe of mechanical dinosaurs for “quick sale.”
The 160 life-size mechanical animals are, according to the listing, 4 years old, are sporting a few “small scratches and dints,” and are “very sophisticated.” For the species nerds out there, the range does include a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Diplodocus, and some Velociraptors (the InGen genetically-bred mutation, it should be noted, and not the Cretaceous-accurate species).
‘Course the whole thing is a superbly constructed pisstake, given away by this magnificent sentence:
“Add a touch of class to your golf course or complement your vintage car collection (see separate listing). These are collectables – will definitely hold their value.”
Palmer’s vintage car museum (that holds roughly 100 very expensive rare cars) was paid for by a $5million loan from QN Resources, one of the many that Palmer simply never repaid.
But hey, if you’ve got the means, the space, and the desire to foster a herd of slightly animatronic dinosaurs in your back paddock, you could do worse than this steal of a deal.
You might need to move quick, however. The listing states you’ll need to “dismantle and provide own transport.“
Might be time to call in that favour from that bloke you kinda know who owns a ute.
Source: Gumtree.
Photo: Gumtree.
