CLIVE SNEAKS INTO YABULU
Businessman in return to closed plant
QUEENSLAND Nickel owner Clive Palmer returned to Townsville yesterday ( below), inspecting the shut- down Yabulu refinery. After meeting with Australian Workers’ Union Northern District secretary Bede Harding, MP Scott Stewart and union organiser Luke Mangano (left), Mr Palmer has agreed to return to face his displaced workers and discuss what went wrong before the plant shut last year.
CLIVE Palmer could meet displaced Yabulu workers within weeks after an impromptu meeting with Townsville leaders placed pressure on the embattled businessman to explain the facility’s downturn.
Mr Palmer visited his Queensland Nickel refinery yesterday for about six hours before being chauffeured away from the site in a mini- van.
Townsville MP Scott Stewart and Australian Workers’ Union members Bede Harding and Luke Mangano met him for about half an hour on site.
It is understood Mr Palmer was visiting the region to discuss the future of the refinery.
“I asked Clive whether he would be willing to sit down with all the affected workers and talk to them about what happened with Queensland Nickel and where to from this point,” Mr Stewart said.
“It took a couple of goes before we finally got him to commit to that.
“He finally said he would be happy for us to organise that.”
The Bulletin reported last week that Mr Palmer’s joint- venture companies QNI Metals and QNI Resources owed Townsville City Council $ 1.2 million in unpaid rates.
Mr Stewart said Mr Palmer spent a long time talking about the reasons for the refinery’s closure.
“Our key issue here is making sure Clive got a really clear understanding of how the closure has affected Townsville and impacted upon the economy,” he said.
“He didn’t make any comments about the ( interested) proponents.
“He was very matter- of- fact with us.”
Mr Harding, the AWU’s Northern District secretary, said that, while the union hoped Mr Palmer would stick to his commitments, he was not holding his breath.
“I want him to tell people about why they don’t have a job,” he said.
“We have committed to writing to Clive and to request this meeting and he said he may be interested in doing that in coming weeks.
“If he’s not going to pay for entitlements, the least he could do is apologise to the people of Townsville for what he’s done.”
Ex- employee Pete Smith said the refinery should not have shut down as the market price of cobalt would have kept it open.
“If someone really wanted to profit from it, which they will, the technology is there to turn low- grade into high- grade premium product,” he said.
“I’ve been very fortunate, I was able to gain employment very quickly.
“I do think people will want to go back – if it wasn’t run by Palmer, most definitely.”
Mr Smith said he would not attend a meeting if Mr Palmer held one.
Another former employee, Greg Keppel, said he would attend the meeting as long as other ex- employees also did.
“I’m employed now but I would certainly consider it,” he said.
“I only got the payout that the Government gave at that time.”
Mr Keppel said he hoped the former politician was not giving false hope to his former staff.
“He’s left it sitting a while – I’m not saying it’s impossible ( the prospect of the refinery reopening),” he said.
Mayor Jenny Hill said her view remained the same – sell the refinery.
“He could sell it for $ 1.50 and he’d still make a profit,” she said.
“No matter what he says or does in light of what’s come out in the court reports, I don’t think too many would trust him. “He’s here giving false hope. “If it was worth a billion dollars, BHP would have sold it to him for that ( in 2009).”
Mr Palmer declined to comment.