Legal D-day arrives for Rod Culleton

Mr Culleton was elected for One Nation at last year’s poll but quit the party to become independent shortly before he was made ineligible for the federal Senate due to a bankruptcy decision handed down in the Federal Court, on December 23 last year.

He gained a 21-day stay order on the sequestration of his estate at the pre-Christmas hearing and subsequent extensions have allowed an appeal process to proceed with a hearing heard last week, by the Full Court of the Federal Court.

A decision on that matter is due to be handed down at 4.30pm today which is expected to conclude the subsequent appeal processes allowed for the former Williams farmer.

Chief Justice James Allsop will deliver the judgment in Melbourne on behalf of the Full Court, along with a video link to Perth where Mr Culleton is based.

The bankruptcy decision is due to a legal claim against Mr Culleton that’s been pushed by determined former Wesfarmers director Dick Lester which started in mid-2010.

Mr Lester has sought to reclaim a debt of more than $200,000 linked to the sale of oats and the lease and potential $13.2 million sale of his farm property “Rathgar”, to his one-time friend and farm neighbour and his company Elite Grains.

Yesterday, the Western Australian Court of Appeal dismissed Mr Culleton’s application to re-open the Court of Appeal’s decision from 2015 in relation to the case against Mr Lester and his company Balwyn Nominees.

Mr Culleton was ordered to pay legal costs.

In 2015, the appeal against the original 2013 trial decision was also wholly dismissed and Balwyn Nominees was awarded its costs, said Mr Lester’s lawyer Michael Lundberg of King & Wood Mallesons.

Outside the court yesterday, Mr Lester told media, “It means that the original case that was won by Dakin Farms, my company, and Balwyn Nominees, my company, against Rodney and Ioanna Culleton has been confirmed, and all courses of appeal have been exhausted and that the matter of Rodney Culleton's bankruptcy is a very alive issue”.

The High Court is also due to hand down its judgment at 10am today in Canberra on a matter referred by the federal Senate late last year - sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns - concerning Mr Culleton’s eligibility for election.

Despite being formally notified of his formal disqualification by Senate President Stephen Parry earlier this month and having his payment and entitlements terminated and those of his staff, Mr Culleton has repeatedly insisted he’s still a Senator.

Mr Culleton has described the extended legal battle against Mr Lester as being “personal” compared to his many other legal fights.

He has also continually claimed he’s solvent and can repay his debts but has also expressed concerns about ongoing, escalating legal costs while vowing he would accept the court’s ultimate decision, once all legal avenues were exhausted.

Senator Parry is due to make an announcement next Tuesday to the Senate when it returns for the first time in 2017 on matters concerning Mr Culleton and his various legal matters.

Senator Parry has written to the Governor of Western Australia saying a vacancy exists in the state’s representation as per the constitution, due to Mr Culleton being declared an undischarged bankrupt.

But the matter remains unresolved as the High Court’s decision today is also expected to determine the way forward on how Mr Culleton will be replaced.

The position can be filled through a casual vacancy appointment by One Nation or a recount of votes which could see the person second on One Nation’s WA Senate ticket which is Mr Culleton's brother-in-law Peter Georgiou, subsequently elected.

On Monday, Mr Culleton sought to try and bring his personal bankruptcy matter from the Federal Court, to the High Court, to be determined alongside questions regarding his electoral eligibility.

But Justice Gageler dismissed the summons relating to Mr Culleton’s claim that reportedly also sought to try and retain his parliamentary entitlements which have been terminated, following the bankruptcy ruling.

Mr Culleton attended the court proceedings with his legal team of Peter King, Peter Lithgow and lawyer John Maitland to address the matter.

Ahead of the hearing, he said part of his overall legal and political strategy was to test the federal constitution and he was “still in the game”.

He said he’d put an application into the High Court to “keep the ball in the air” and remained adamant that Senator Parry had “definitely jumped the gun” in declaring him ineligible for the Senate, due to the Federal Court’s bankruptcy decision.

“I’m still in the game and plenty of big games have been won by the last power-ball to come out,” he said.

“However, I am a law abiding citizen and when all of my legal avenues have been exhausted I’ll do what the court orders me to do.

“But it’s never over until the rooster crows.”

On December 7 last year, the High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, heard the case referred to it by the Upper House in November to determine whether - as per Section 44 of the constitution - Mr Culleton was eligible to be a candidate at last year’s federal election.

Facts of the case agreed between the parties say that on March 2 last year Mr Culleton was convicted in his absence by the Local Court of NSW at Armidale, for an offence of larceny, property value less than $2000.

However the Magistrate in convicting him as an absent offender was precluded from making an order for a sentence of imprisonment.

On August 8 last year the Local Court granted an annulment of that conviction and at no time was Mr Culleton sentenced in respect of the conviction.

“As a result of the annulment granted on August 8, 2016, the Local Court proceeded to deal with the matter afresh,” the court document said.

“On October 25, 2016, Senator Culleton pleaded guilty in the Local Court to the offence of larceny - without proceeding to conviction, the Court dismissed the matter.”

The theft charge related to a $7.50 key taken during an altercation with a tow truck driver who was trying to repossess a vehicle linked to a division of Mr Culleton’s horse feed business at Guyra.

Mr Culleton also appeared in court in Perth earlier this week on matters relating to trespass charges against Frank Bertola and Bruce Bell who were arrested after being thrown out of the Federal Court hearing in Perth on December 23, where the judge declared the proceedings a “circus”, due to the breach of a Violence Restraining Order (VRO) taken out by Mr Culleton’s wife

Mr Bertola and Mr Bell were once involved with Mr Culleton through the Rural Action Movement Group where they pursued common concerns about issues with unfair lending practices and down-graded asset valuations, following the sale of the Landmark loans book to the ANZ Bank.

However, they have since fallen out bitterly resulting in a series incidents including Mr Bertola seeking to add a creditors’ petition, with claims of about $4 million in alleged debts including to individual farmers and grain suppliers, to Mr Culleton’s bankruptcy ruling.

It was thrown out in a technicality earlier this month but Mr Bertola - a former farmer from Bremer Bay - has promised to continue pursuing the alleged debts, including a personal amount of $65,000 which Mr Culleton has denied he owes.

Mr Bell has sought to push a claim to have Mr Culleton expelled from federal parliament by also testing his legal eligibility, in the High Court.

That claim also seeks to try and make the court enforce a constitutional rule that fines anyone - in proportion to their annual parliamentary salary - who is found to have been ineligible for election, by the Court of Disputed Returns.

Senator Parry’s written notice and action on Mr Culleton was triggered by section 44 of the constitution which says a member of the Senate is disqualified, if declared bankrupt or insolvent.