Natural Vitality Australia, directed by MP Rob Molhoek, chased over tax debt, looks to refinance

A GOLD Coast MP has distanced himself from a company he directs as it is chased over a large tax debt and a bank hovers over its property.

ANOTHER natural therapies company linked to Southport MP Rob Molhoek is struggling financially, with a bank hovering over its factory and the tax office chasing debts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The strife with PremaLife, which also trades as Natural Vitality Australia, comes less than six months after the failure of Natural Remedies Group (NRG), which collapsed shortly after Mr Molhoek stepped down as a director.

Documents lodged with ASIC list 153 creditors of that company, including several state government departments and the Australian Taxation Office — which is owed $1.3 million.

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The Southport MP is sole director of PremaLife, which is partly owned by wealthy Chinese businesswoman Weiqun “Lucy” Gu and majority owned by Malaysian company Natural Health and Education, which is headed by transgender pop star Jessie Chung.

Mr Molhoek yesterday said: “I’m not really sure why this is a story to be honest.”

More than 20 people work at PremaLife’s Natural Vitality Australia business, from its factory in Brendale, which is owned by yet another of Ms Gu’s companies.

In 2016 the Liberal MP and former planning Minister and Ms Gu posed for cosy photos and declared they were in love — however yesterday Mr Molhoek could not say whether the pair still had a future.

Land records show NAB holds a mortgage worth more than $1 million over the property where PremaLife operates Natural Vitality Group, and another lender also has a caveat on it.

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State Member for Southport Rob Molhoek pictured with his then-fiance Weiqun `Lucy’ Gu. Pic: David Clark

Group founder and shareholder Glen Gillard conceded there were problems with the bank and the tax office, which is chasing wrongly claimed GST credits from the company.

Mr Gillard said the Malaysian shareholders intended to repay the tax debt and refinance the mortgage and that the company was about to undergo a rapid expansion into promising export markets.

“We’re all responsible individuals, including Rob (Molhoek), and we’ve taken every step to make sure that everybody gets taken care of and our creditors and our bankers and our fiduciary responsibilities will all be sorted out,” he said.

“The major shareholders in our company have got a very big future for the company and they’re working on that at the moment.”

Mr Gillard said he said finance for the property was “being renegotiated” and the outstanding tax debt had been “budgeted for” and had “all been sorted”.

“There’s issues there where we’re going through the refinance stage but the major owners of the business have also mooted that they want to take over the property so there isn’t an issue — they’re also preparing to meet with the bank,” he said.

“There will be meetings with the tax office in the weeks ahead.”

Malaysian popstar Jessie Chung (second from left) heads up Natural Vitality Australia’s majority shareholder Natural Health and Education.

Mr Gillard said all staff had been paid and there was no risk to the company’s ongoing viability.

“As far as I’m concerned, every business has its difficulties but we’re working through it,” he said.

Mr Gillard said Natural Vitality Australia had benefited from Mr Molhoek’s involvement.

“Rob’s a good guy, he’s put a lot of effort in and has made a lot of sacrifices for this business,” he said.

Mr Molhoek, who earns $180,000 a year as an MP, was more modest about his contributions to the company.

“I don’t actually have any financial interest in the company,” he said.

“I’ve just been a caretaker director, representing one of the shareholder’s interests and really that’s the extent of it.

“I’m not involved in the operation of the company or the day-to-day decisions.”

MP Rob Molhoek. Photographer: Liam Kidston

Mr Molhoek said the shareholder he represented was Ms Gu, who he said was due to visit Australia over Christmas.

He could not confirm whether or not he and Ms Gu, who posed for loved-up photos for the Bulletin’s front page in 2016, still planned to marry.

“That’s a good question, and not one I really want to talk about publicly,” he said.

Jointly with Ms Gu, Mr Molhoek owns a home in Parkwood purchased for $845,000 in 2015 and a $1.6 million waterfront home in Southport’s exclusive TSS precinct bought the same year.

Another of the couple’s companies, Asia Pacific Language and Business Institute, was under fire in 2016 for claiming online it was a registered training organisation when it was not.

In 2016 Mr Molhoek was forced to distance himself from a Chinese businessman who gave him a $26,000 designer watch and was wanted by police in China over debts worth $30 million. He handed in the watch, which was auctioned for charity.

The Malaysian company that owns the majority of PremaLife also owned 60 per cent of failed West Burleigh coconut oil company Nature Pacific, which owed it more than $977,000 when it collapsed in July.