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Category: Federal Government / Government and Politics / Mining (Rural) / Mining Industry / Company News / Law, Crime and Justice / Clive Palmer

Calls for AFP, ASIC to investigate Palmer over Queensland Nickel woes

Tuesday, 15 Mar 2016 21:49:01 | Francis Keany

Queensland MP Ewen Jones says Clive Palmer needs to be investigated over the Queensland Nickel scandal. (AAP: Dave Hunt)

A Federal Government MP has called on the Federal Police and the corporate watchdog ASIC to investigate Clive Palmer and management over the fate of Queensland Nickel.

Key points:

  • MP Ewen Jones says Queensland Nickel refinery victim of "phoenix operation"
  • A phoenix operation is when assets and cash are moved elsewhere before the collapse of a business
  • Jones says Clive Palmer's role in issue "should not be underestimated"

Queensland Nickel Sales (QNS), a Clive Palmer-owned company, took over as manager of the refinery last week after former manager Queensland Nickel — another of Mr Palmer's businesses — went into voluntary administration and sacked more than 200 workers in January.

Another 550 workers at the beleaguered facility near Townsville were made redundant on Friday.

Queensland Liberal National MP Ewen Jones told Parliament the refinery had fallen victim to a "phoenix operation", where assets and cash are moved elsewhere before the collapse of a business.

"If you look at what has happened here, to the casual observer they would not be able to see any discernible difference between the illegal and unprincipled act of phoenixing a company and what the Member for Fairfax and his management of the Townsville company has done," he said.

"Their actions in making 227 people redundant, appointing administrators to one of the companies involved in the business, loading it up with debt and cutting it adrift is bad enough.

"To then strike out under a new banner of Queensland Nickel Sales and wrest control of the refinery from the administrators they appointed, forcing the administrators to make the remaining 550 employees [redundant] as well, smells of malfeasance of the highest order."

Mr Palmer has warned that production might not resume until the end of July unless a number of demands from administrators and the Queensland Government are met.

But Mr Jones told Parliament, Mr Palmer had been acting as "shadow director" behind the scenes and that the role of the Fairfax MP in the issue could not "be underestimated".

"I would implore Greg Medcraft, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) to take urgent action on this episode," he said.

"I would urge government bodies, such as the taxation department and Federal Police to look at what has happened here and hold those responsible to account."

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