Palmer has to act more and talk less

CLIVE Palmer needs to put up or shut up.

If he has the ability to reopen Queensland Nickel’s Yabulu refinery then he should do so.

If there are debts impeding his plans, he need only cough up the cash.

Yes, when the refinery closed in 2016 leaving hundreds of people out of a job, Mr Palmer’s name was mud in the capital of the north.

And yes, we have old wounds and long memories.

But the people of North Queensland are also realists who want to live, work and play here.

We want our kids to have jobs and our economy to prosper.

We’re not going to look a gift horse in the mouth and we’ll take the opportunities presented to us, this time a little wiser and with the understanding that nothing lasts forever.

What is unfathomable is why Mr Palmer can’t do anything without the accompanying circus.

He’s obsessed with trying to win over the hearts and minds of Townsville residents as evidenced by his $ 100,000 sponsorship offer and his massive advertising campaign.

Then he pulls bullyboy tactics such as threatening legal action on anyone who dares to criticise him.

Yesterday, he threatened to sue Townsville federal Labor MP Cathy O’Toole for defamation, claiming statements she made about him had maligned his character.

That behaviour in straight- shooting North Queensland just doesn’t cut it.

But what does it matter at the end of the day if residents here love or loathe the man? There’s not a soul here among us that wouldn’t happily take a slice of his $ 2.84 billion.

Being Queensland’s richest man must be a lonely affair if making a motza out of cobalt and nickel isn’t enough that locals need to worship Mr Palmer too.

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