Clive Palmer’s secret hit list predated Queensland Nickel sackings

Clive Palmer secretly demanded a hit list of workers and their entitlements be drawn up a month before 237 were sacked.

Clive Palmer has repeatedly claimed privilege against self-­incrimination throughout the Federal Court public examination hearings. Picture: Marc Robertson

Clive Palmer secretly demanded a hit list of Queensland Nickel workers and their redundancy ­entitlements be drawn up a month before 237 refinery staff were sacked from his Townsville operation.

Just hours earlier, Mr Palmer had denied under oath in the Federal Court that he had advance knowledge of the redundancies before they were made public on January 15.

UPDATE: Palmer dealt another court loss

Barrister Tom Sullivan QC, for special-purpose liquidators PPB Advisory, confronted Mr Palmer with the secret text messages, sent from his phone to refinery manager Ian Ferguson on December 18 last year, which were uncovered by a summons.

“Can you get onto a head guy in HR, confidential, alone, tell him to work out entitlements for last 200 people we employed,” Mr Palmer ordered Mr Ferguson.

Mr Ferguson replied: “Will do.”

After previously accepting that the phone belonged to him, the ­former federal MP then suggested he “didn’t always send my own texts”. “I wasn’t the average Aus­tralian,” the self-proclaimed billionaire said.

A short time later, in December last year, Mr Ferguson sent a spreadsheet of 250 employees and their estimated redundancy ­entitlements to Mr Palmer, his nephew and sole registered QN director Clive Mensink, and QN chief financial officer Daren Wolfe.

Mr Sullivan: “Did you per­sonally consider that QN should make these employees ­redundant?”

Mr Palmer: “No … Mr Mensink decided he was going to ­implement a decision.”

Mr Palmer denied instructing Mr Mensink to sack the 237 workers on January 15, one business day before the company was plunged into voluntary administration.

He also said that he “never discussed” with QN’s management team how the workers’ redundancies would be paid.

Mr Mensink has been on an overseas holiday since June and has no plans to return, meaning liquidators have not been able to serve him summonses to appear.

Federal taxpayers have advanced more than $65 million for redundancy entitlements.

Mr Palmer has repeatedly claimed privilege against self-­incrimination throughout the Federal Court public examination hearings, which prevent any of his evidence being used against him in future criminal or civil proceedings, where he could be hit with a penalty. This does not protect him against perjury.

Mr Palmer has denied acting as a shadow director or having day-to-day control over the running of the refinery. He has insisted he acted only as the chairman of the Queensland Nickel Joint Venture Owners Committee.

Earlier, Mr Palmer claimed he did not have “any understanding” of insolvent trading in the months before QN collapsed, insisting his limited knowledge came from “books and the Financial Review”.

This was despite being warned by a then director of QN in 2012 about insolvent trading, conflicts of interest and improper use of power.

The court heard rail freight giant Aurizon issued QN with a demand for payment of more than $13m in debts owed — some from as early as August — on Nov­ember 27 last year.

None of the debts was paid and the company continued to operate.

Mr Palmer insisted Aurizon was merely “posturing” and not seriously wanting the amount ­repaid immediately, despite being shown letters to the opposite.

The resources tycoon will continue to give evidence today.