Decency runs dry in Clive Palmer’s world after nickel debacle

Decency runs dry in Palmer’s world

Before he went into politics, Clive Palmer had us all fooled, me ­included. Workers at the Yabulu nickel refinery were awash with Mercedes-Benz cars and overseas trips. He was the employer who made unions redundant. He ­became a folk hero and parlayed his celebrity into real power. He put what we all thought was a huge amount of his own money into an election fund for a party named after him and run by him and him alone. Under his banner a bunch of rank political amateurs were elected to the Senate. Palmer was elected to the House of Representatives.

His minions were treated to free trips to America and Clive counted Al Gore as a close friend. Ricky Muir, who looked utterly lost and out of place in the spotlight, entered into an alliance with him. Glenn Lazarus and ­Jacqui Lambie were signed up party members but when their Senate careers began they had absolutely no idea about the ­business of the Senate. Dio Wang was elected in the Senate re-run in March 2014. That is less than two years ago and Clive was still the one who would keep the ­bastards honest. The Palmer United Party got just on 14 per cent in that WA re-run. It was a remarkable result achieved on the back of god knows how many millions being spent on advertising.

Since that election two things have been revealed about Clive. First we know where the money came from; and despite the hype Palmer was never a billionaire.

It was all done with mirrors. He did receive hundreds of millions of dollars from CITIC, a Chinese company with which he once had a good relationship. He wrecked that relationship and is now in the process of losing legal cases all over Australia.

He bought the wonderful resort at Coolum in southeast Queensland. Its championship golf course is now going to wrack and ruin. The resort is closed and Clive lost yet another legal stoush when he sacked Hyatt as the ­resort manager. He had no ­evidence to back up his absurd claims that Hyatt had robbed him of $20 million. Yet another judge’s gavel hit the bench and he lost ­another battle.

Palmer pillaged and plundered his nickel refinery business to the tune of almost $20m. His Townsville workers did not know they were mere pawns in a bigger play. As the world nickel price fell, a prudent business manager would be relying on the cash he put away for a rainy day when the price was high.

Not so with Clive. Even as late as December 2015 he was pleading in court proceedings in Perth that his refinery was desperately close to going under. The ink wasn’t dry on that document when he took another $300,000 from Yabulu. While it is clear that he has no shame, it is also ­becoming clear he is not big on courage either.

In the space of just one week he laid off 237 workers at the Townsville plant and called in administrators. In true Palmer style he had begged the ­Queensland government to guarantee a bank loan to the tune of $30m while refusing to open the refinery’s books.

The man who basked in the glory of the giveaways just five years ago demonstrated the ­second trait referred to above — he slunk away and slammed the door of his Gold Coast mansion. He was too gutless to answer questions or front those he sacked and the rest who fear they will be sacked. He has not been game to turn up in Townsville.

On Wednesday afternoon I spent an hour with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk along with Ben English, the new editor of the Townsville Bulletin. The Premier had flown cabinet ministers up to the city I have spent the last month in. That morning she had met the sacked workers and what impressed me so much was that she could remember the names of those who told her their stories. She told us of the bloke who had just $220 in his wallet and had been refused help at Centrelink because he had no separation documents from the company. His dilemma was that the company had so far not provided one to him or ­anyone else.

The husband of a childless ­couple lamented to her how he had worked through Christmas and Easter for the last 18 years so that the families with children could enjoy their holiday time ­together.

Now as there appears to be a real chance that all those at Yabulu will not be paid their ­entitlements, the reserve he had built up to be used if either he or his wife got seriously ill is gone. His ­holiday sacrifices were in vain. The Premier cares and that is why her ratings in the polls are so high.

Her package of measures includes requirements for tenders to mandate the use of local labour and equipment.

Townsville is big enough to have its own construction industry but the big projects up for grabs go to tier-one firms from Brisbane who fly in the ­people and drive in the gear.

Local federal MP Ewan Jones is trying to convince the federal ­government to change the way they tender to give local firms a chance.

Townsville’s tireless mayor Jenny Hill keeps coming up with projects that might employ those who have been displaced. She is using her long-time friendship with the Premier to the advantage of her citizenry.

Hill is determined that Palmer will not bring down the spirit of the people of her city.

If the feds match the Queensland government and throw money into a new stadium, a large and symbolic project will provide Townsville with a real boost. Meanwhile, Clive wants gratitude for allegedly spending $2.8m of his personal money while remaining mute on what happened to the other $17m he took from Townsville.

This week The Courier-Mail carried the line on its front page that Palmer was “unfit” to sit in the federal parliament.

The Townsville Bulletin said on its front page that he had “shafted” their city. If there was a shred of decency left in the man he would write to the Speaker and resign his seat. But in Clive Palmer’s world, decency is in very short supply.