Culleton due to face High Court today

It’s understood Mr Culleton is seeking 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.

The High Court has listed an item of business for 10am today, before Justice Gageler, to hear a summons in the matter of questions referred to the Court of Disputed Returns, relating to “Senator Rodney Norman Culleton”.

Mr Culleton confirmed he was flying into Canberra for tomorrow’s hearing in the High Court but was coy on the details of his latest legal strategy.

He said he would be attending the court proceedings with his legal team of Peter King, Peter Lithgow and lawyer John Maitland to address the matter.

He dismissed suggestions the High Court was set to deliver its final verdict on whether he was ineligible for election, by January 31.

Mr Culleton 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 Senate President Stephen Parry had “definitely jumped the gun” in declaring him ineligible for the Senate, due to a bankruptcy decision handed down by the Federal Court on December 23.

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

“But I’ve got to keep my powder dry so I’m not making any comment.

“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 former farmer and anti-banking crusader faced the High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, in a matter referred to it by the Upper House in November to determine whether - as per Section 44 of the constitution - he was eligible to be a candidate at last year’s federal election, where he was elected for One Nation.

On December 23, he was declared bankrupt by the Federal Court due to a long-running dispute over a land sale and lease deal, and sale of oats, against his former farming neighbour at Williams, in the WA Wheatbelt, and ex Wesfarmers director Dick Lester and his company Balwyn Nominees, for a $280,000 debt.

That Federal Court decision led to Senator Parry formally notifying Mr Culleton of his disqualification due to constitutional rules regarding bankrupts, causing the subsequent termination of his salary, staffing arrangements and other parliamentary entitlements including his offices in Canberra and Perth.

The Federal Court’s bankruptcy ruling also saw to Senator Parry write to the Governor of Western Australia earlier this month to say a vacancy now existed in the state’s political representation.

The High Court matter is also looking at determining by what means and in what manner any vacancy should now be filled, if it agrees that Mr Culleton was ineligible, which could potentially be a recount of votes.

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.

An appeal hearing was held last Friday before three Federal Court judges on Mr Culleton’s bankruptcy ruling - which was originally handed down by Justice Barker - with his defence team arguing he was solvent and there was an abuse of process.

He was granted extensions to the original 21 day stay order, on the sequestration of his estate, to allow the expedited appeal hearing to proceed, with a decision likely to be revealed later this week

Mr Culleton also appeared in court yesterday in Perth 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.

Last week, Mr Culleton said “one has to be very mindful” of the orders made by Justice Barker in the December 23 bankruptcy ruling and the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia Justice Allsop, allowing a stay on all proceedings.

He said he was still performing the work of a federal Senator, dealing with constituent issues like farm foreclosures, along with his staff, despite being disqualified.

He is also seeking to raise funds to retain his place in the Senate to continue fighting for a Royal Commission into banking, with an online call for funding having raised $1995 towards a target of $100,000, off 19 people in 15 days

“I have to be very measured in what I say but to me I believe they’re hindering my prospects of actually doing any sort of commercial settlement that may or may not be required, around this purported bankruptcy,” he said last week.

“We’ve had a single judge lose control of the court and that’s just basically shone a little bit of bankruptcy on my skin - flicked with me with a little bit of bankruptcy paint - and now all of a sudden it’s a constitutional issue.

“What is abundantly clear is that Rodney Culleton, his own entity, as an individual, in effect has won a contract and was duly elected under a government contract, to be paid to represent Western Australia as a Senator for federal parliament.

“And what Senator Parry has done is jumped in and frustrated and hindered Senator Culleton’s asset – because that’s what it is – my asset.

“What Senator Parry has done is jump the gun against court orders and completely frustrated and potentially may have hindered my position personally and I’m not happy about that.”

Senator Parry is expected to make a formal statement to the Upper House on what’s occurred with Mr Culleton’s eligibility ruling, when federal parliament resumes for the start of 2017, on February 7.

In a statement on January 11, he said he’d informed Mr Culleton and other members of the vacancy and was now waiting on the Court of Disputed Returns to decide how to proceed.

“It is a necessary and automatic consequence of the declaration of bankruptcy of a serving Senator, that his place as a Senator becomes vacant,” it said.