Clive Palmer fails to save Queensland Nickel refinery jobs

Clive Palmer’s botched rescue plan for his stricken nickel ­refinery yesterday cost nearly 550 workers their jobs.

11 March 2016 Townsville, Qld - Queensland Nickel Managing Director Operations Ian Ferguson leaves the Yabulu plant - Photo: No byline

Clive Palmer’s botched rescue plan for his stricken nickel ­refinery yesterday cost nearly 550 workers their jobs and threw his $23 million line of credit into doubt as he sweats on last-minute government permits to legally run the plant.

Three ships laden with nickel ore bound for Townsville were ­diverted last night as voluntary administrators FTI Consulting ordered a broker to sell the commodity to other customers, adding to concerns about if, not when, the plant will reopen.

The Turnbull government is under pressure to throw a financial lifeline to almost 800 workers sacked from the plant since January after FTI formally requested Employment Minister Michaelia Cash exercise her discretion to activate the government entitlements safety net scheme.

Mr Palmer sniped at his political rivals yesterday on Twitter but otherwise stayed silent, leaving his nephew Clive Mensink to admit to devastated workers that without the government approvals they “couldn’t satisfy the commercial parameters necessary to allow us to operate”.

Mr Mensink said workers would be contacted once the permits were sorted and said he ­“anticipated” new contracts would be on the same terms and conditions, igniting howls of anger from unions.

The refinery — which had not processed nickel for more than a week after it ran out of ore — was effectively shut down last night, amid fears it will never reopen. The next shipment of nickel ore had been due to arrive at Townsville’s port on Tuesday, but the three ships from New Caledonia and The Philippines were blocked last night.

In Townsville, Bill Shorten ­demanded an investigation into the collapse of Queensland ­Nickel, in particular large “related party transactions” from the company to Mr Palmer’s other corporate interests. The Opposition Leader also pressed Senator Cash to exercise her discretion and activate the Fair Entitlements Guarantee to allow redundant workers to be paid part of their $60m in entitlements by the taxpayer rather than their employer. The guarantee is not normally activated until a company is liquidated.

Australian Workers Union northern district secretary Rod “Cowboy” Stockham said the workers needed help urgently.

“Let’s be honest, for the 237 workers who were displaced in January, it’ll be the first bit of ­security they’ll see for their ­entitlements, and it’ll give them some respite,” Mr Stockham said.

Senator Cash said it was up to Mr Palmer and the management of Queensland Nickel Sales, the company he installed as manager of the refinery on Monday, to ­“urgently write to all affected workers with new offers of ­employment”.

“(Mr Shorten) has tried to ­absolve Clive Palmer of responsibility and has instead been ­focused on taxpayer-funded ­redundancy payouts rather than maintaining gainful employment for affected workers,” she said. “Unlike Mr Shorten, the government’s focus has always been on these employees retaining their jobs rather than being made ­redundant.”

The state’s Environment ­Department last night slapped ­enforcement orders on Queensland Nickel Sales, demanding the company prove it could protect the environment, just hours after issuing it with an environment authority to operate the refinery.

Environment Minister Steven Miles said there were severe consequences for breaching the ­directives, “including the possibility of criminal charges’’.

The state government is still processing applications for a transfer of the refinery’s major hazard facility licence. There are believed to be at least 19 more ­approvals needed, with several government sources confirming Queensland Nickel Sales had been difficult to contact to ­expedite the process.

It is understood the $23m Mr Palmer claims he secured from a Sydney financier for Queensland Nickel Sales is contingent on the government approvals.