Queensland Nickel donated more than $288,000 to Palmer United Party before sacking workers

LATEST: CLIVE Palmer’s own company has described him as a “hero” despite his managers marching 240 workers off the job last week.

Clive the real ‘hero’ as workers sacked

CLIVE Palmer’s own company has described him as a “hero” despite his managers marching 240 workers off the job last week.

The wealthy politician was lauded yesterday for saving Christmas for the workers at the Queensland Nickel plant by using $2.5 million of his own money to pay salaries.

And in a bizarre defence of company money going to his Palmer United Party, Mr Palmer said the funds helped save manufacturing jobs that had been threatened by the carbon tax.

It came as the Palaszczuk Government began fast tracking more than $60 million in public works projects in a bid to counter job losses.

According to refinery workers, they were given only a letter of dismissal before being marched off site.

Speaking for the first time since Friday’s sackings, Mr Palmer said the latest PUP donation of $290,000 of cash, gifts and services from Queensland Nickel was in the past six months, not December 31.

And he said an initial $15 million donation used to set up PUP had been money well spent because its then senators voted to kill the carbon tax.

Queensland Nickel has donated more than $20 million to PUP in the past two years.

Hailing his uncle a “hero”, managing director Clive Mensink said the MP had saved the refinery by investing his own money in 2009.

“Make no mistake, Clive Palmer is a hero and the people of north Queensland should be happy that he intervened and put his money at risk,” he said.

Both Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg took aim at Mr Palmer.

With regard to repaying the $288,516 donation made ahead of the sackings, Ms Palaszczuk called on Mr Palmer to consider what his workers want.

“That is a matter for Mr Palmer but I’m quite sure the workers of Queensland Nickel will have a very firm view in relation to that matter,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Mr Springborg said Queensland Nickel should not have been donating to PUP.

“What we are seeing now is self-justified gobbledygook from Mr Palmer.”

Clive Palmerin Brisbane.

Queensland Nickel managing director Clive Mensink.

On Saturday, it was reported that, Queensland Nickel donated more than $288,000 to the Palmer United Party just weeks before almost 240 workers were sacked.

The Queensland Electoral Commission “special return” filed this week shows the troubled refinery donated $288,516 to the PUP on December 31, with the donation signed off by Queensland Nickel managing director Clive Mensink as “agent/financial controller”.

The sacking of 237 Queensland Nickel workers on Friday prompted calls for Mr Palmer to return the millions in donations the company had made to his political party.

Herbert federal MP Ewen Jones was among those who believed the money needed to be handed back to Queensland Nickel, while independent Senator Nick Xenophon yesterday said Mr Palmer had some tough questions to answer.

“The fact is millions of dollars of money from Clive Palmer, from associated entities, have gone into his political party and it seems to have ended in tears,” Mr Xenophon said in Brisbane yesterday.

“I just think that he needs to be upfront with Queenslanders, but most importantly to his workers.”

One Labor minister offered a slither of hope to the sacked workers, saying the refinery jobs might still be saved if Mr Palmer opened its books to the government.

Minister Assisting the Premier on North Queensland Coralee O’Rourke says the government is still prepared to discuss possible government support for the Townsville facility, but Mr Palmer and refinery executives won’t co-operate.

“We have asked, and we will always ask, to have those open conversations with them, but they have not been forthcoming,” she said.

The Queensland Nickel refinery north of Townsville. Picture: Brian Cassey

Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said he backed Palaszczuk Government’s decision not to provide financial help to the company.

“What we have said all the way through is that this is principally a private decision and Clive Palmer should be better managing his own affairs and we have said that all the way through,” Mr Springborg said.

“We don’t expect the Government to come in and bail out private businesses - that is not the role of government,” Mr Springborg told the ABC.

On Friday, Mr Mensink accused the State Government of showing a “lack of compassion and caring for Townsville families”.

“The Queensland Government has made it clear despite the nickel price being the lowest in 15 years it has no interest in assisting Queensland Nickel in providing continued employment for over 800 families in Townsville,’’ he said in a statement.

“This stands in contrast to the $40 million-a-year cheque the Queensland Treasury writes each year to a multinational group for their Gladstone operations.

But the State Government – which has sent rapid response units to Townsville to assist sacked workers – shot back that it tried to work with the company, but did not receive the full financial statements it had asked for.

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said losing $1.7 million worth of monthly worker pay packets would be felt throughout the local economy.

But she was optimistic the plant would return full employment if and when the nickel price recovered.

“I firmly believe over the next 12-18 months things will start turning for the better.”