Promises not worth a nickel

LOCALS are right to be cautious of Clive Palmer’s suggestions that his $ 197.4 million win could be used to reopen his Yabulu nickel refinery. He was reported in

as saying he would look at “doing what we can in the future for the people of Townsville and getting the refinery open again”.

It’s hard to believe that the people of Townsville have ever been a priority for Mr Palmer.

While time has passed since the 2016 closure of the refinery, the hurt is still fresh in the memories of those whose lives were turned upside down when they lost their jobs, as well as Townsville residents and businesses impacted by the ripple effect.

As Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill says, we would be very happy for Mr Palmer to prove us wrong and to show us that he is capable of effectively reopening and running the operation.

We want to believe that the facility could be returned to its former status.

But his track record doesn’t fill us with much hope and it’s very unlikely we’ll believe it before we see it.

Furthermore, there would be no support for one cent of public money to go towards Mr Palmer’s plans and we would echo the sentiment of Cr Hill who says, if the former federal politician does wish to reopen, he should first settle his debts. The two former employees the

spoke to have moved on with their lives and their careers. Not everyone will have been as lucky. We hope that Mr Palmer has thought hard about this possibility and is serious about his comments before he’s run his mouth off in the media.

If not, it’s a cruel game to play with a town still picking up the pieces from the closure, and a false sense of hope for the 500 people he says have registered for jobs should it reopen.

If he has no intention of reopening the refinery, it’s time for Mr Palmer to say goodbye and sell it.