Clive Palmer assures us there’s no reason to spare him a nickel

Clive Palmer arrived in Canberra two years ago flaunting his wealth. Now it’s no-one’s business.

14102015

Clive Palmer arrived in Canberra two years ago flaunting his wealth. Now it is none of anyone’s business.

The self-proclaimed “billionaire’’ flew in on his private jet from Queensland and made a public point of taking his Rolls-Royce to federal parliament.

But since scraping home by 53 votes to win the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax things have ­become tougher, and not just losing two of his Palmer United Party’s three senators.

There has been a court case ­between one of his companies and a Chinese partner over a West Australian iron ore project, ­reports of poor occupancy at his Coolum Resort and dinosaur park and the price of nickel, which is key to one of his major companies, has gone south.

Asked yesterday if he was a billionaire, what his personal wealth was or if he had any profitable assets, Mr Palmer stormed out of a press conference.

“It’s really none of your business,’’ he said.

More worrying, despite boasting that he was putting money into Queensland Nickel, the owner of the Yabulu refinery in Townsville, Mr Palmer refused to say whether he would guarantee the long-service leave and holiday leave entitlements of its employees.

That was a matter for the Queensland Nickel directors, he said. Mr Palmer might not like it, but the financial affairs of federal politicians is public business.

There is a pecuniary interest register where politicians disclose their financial affairs and there is a law that says bankrupts can’t sit in parliament (not that there is any suggestion that this applies to Mr Palmer).

Half an hour earlier in the parliament, Labor had spent a good portion of question time probing Malcolm Turnbull’s tax affairs. The latest interest in Mr Palmer’s businesses has been prompted by the plunge in world nickel prices and reports that the company had canvassed a credit facility of $25 million.

Key staff from Mr Palmer’s company, as well as his lobbyist, former Labor deputy premier Jim Elder, had raised serious challenges facing the refinery during confidential talks, according to a senior Queensland government source.

It is understood that the high-level talks canvassed an approach from Mr Palmer’s side for the taxpayer-funded credit facility. But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Labor government asked to see all the financials of the refinery as well as his other businesses.

“The government wanted to see the entire portfolio to ensure he has done everything possible for Queensland Nickel,’’ a source said.

It is understood that Mr Palmer’s staff, in their talks with state cabinet ministers, described the importance of the refinery and its employees to the Townsville economy.

Ms Palaszczuk’s position has been that, while direct financial help is almost out of the question, it is important for the government to understand all the risks to employees and the economy.

A spokesman for Treasurer Curtis Pitt said the talks were “commercial in confidence”.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Palmer said: “As long as I am the owner of Queensland Nickel I will not allow the company to borrow funds from the Queensland government.

“The simple fact of the matter is that there is no loan from the government or anyone else.’’

Mr Palmer said there were no suggestions of job losses and Queensland Nickel was debt free.

Asked about the loan talks with the Queensland government, Mr Palmer said: “I don’t ­believe in borrowing money.’’

He said the company employed more than 800 people and ­another 1400 depended on it in Townsville.

“Now it is true that the price of nickel is at a six-year low, just like any other commodity, but we do things, as I said, because they’re hard, not because they are easy,’’ Mr Palmer said.

“And I’m quite confident that despite the repeated predictions in The Australian for the last four years, every six months, (that) the refinery is in trouble, it won’t have any trouble meeting the current challenges.’’

Asked whether he would guarantee staff entitlements, Mr Palmer said: “That’s not a question to put to me, you need to put that to the responsible directors.’’

Mr Palmer said the company’s audited accounts showed unencumbered assets of $1.9bn on an audited balance sheet produced four weeks ago.