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The Australian authorities have been called to investigate besieged businessman turned politician Clive Palmer for allegedly operating a phoenix scheme at his beleaguered Queensland state nickel refinery.
Queensland state MP Ewan Jones told the Australian federal parliament late Tuesday night he believed the self-described billionaire had been acting as a shadow director and was part of an elaborate scheme not to pay creditors or entitlements to hundreds of now sacked employees.
Palmer-owned Queensland Nickel Sales (QNS) has taken over as manager of the Yabulu nickel refinery after former manager Queensland Nickel, another Palmer business, was placed into voluntary administration in January as revenue slumped from falling nickel prices. 200 workers were sacked, while a further 550 workers were made "redundant" last Friday when QNS took over operations.
"If you look at what happened here, to the casual observer they would not be able to see any discernible difference between the illegal and unprincipled act of phoenxing a company," Jones said, calling for the Australian Federal Police and other government agencies to investigate Palmer's actions.
"Their actions in making 227 people redundant, appointing administrators to one of the companies involved in the business and loading it up with debt and cutting it adrift is bad enough.
"To then strike out under a new banner of Queensland Nickel Sales and wrest control of the refinery from the administrators they appointed, forcing the administrators to make the remaining 550 employees (redundant) as well, smells of malfeasance of the highest order."
Palmer has been in a public relations battle with Australia's politicians who claim the businessman turned politician has been taking "poor shots" without relevant information with regards to the new environmental approval process, while Palmer claims the politicians have attacked the refinery's management.
Last Friday, the Queensland state government gave environmental approvals for the Nickel refinery to operate under its new management. However, Palmer said operations won't recommence until July 2016, sighting a lack of ore for procession.
However, Nickel ore shipments ordered by the administrator FTI Consulting were diverted away from the refinery because QNS declined an offer to purchase the ore, an FTI Consulting spokesperson told the Reuters.
Palmer also said approvals process was incomplete with 18 approvals outstanding, "making further activity at the refinery impossible or illegal".
Queensland state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk refuted Palmer's claims, saying the government had not received any requests for further approvals, despite Queensland state bureaucrats being in "constant contact" with the self-described billionaire.
