Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Queensland Nickel has operated in Townsville since the 1970s. Many things have changed in this business, and many challenges have been faced, but all challenges have been overcome until now. Today, we see what can only be described as a phoenix operation being carried out by the management of QNI.

Phoenixing is a dastardly act where a company has its assets and cash moved to other related entities. The company then collapses under the weight of the debts incurred, and it is declared to be insolvent and liquidated. The rest of the company then rises from the ashes with the assets and cash stripped from the former company but free of all debts and liability for workplace entitlements.

If a casual observer looked at what has happened here, they would not be able to see any discernible difference between the illegal and unprincipled act of phoenixing a company and what the member for Fairfax and his management of this Townsville company have done. Their actions in making 237 people redundant, appointing administrators to one of the companies involved in the business and loading that company up with debt and cutting it adrift are bad enough. To then strike out under the 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.

There are multiple examples of the member for Fairfax using his own email account and replying to emails from other persons, signing them as Clive. What is happening is that he is acting in the role of a shadow director. They include invoices for expenses and briefings on issues around the plant. This needs to be investigated, and the member needs to be exposed as a shadow director of this firm in what must clearly be shown to be a deliberate exercise of not paying creditors and abusing staff and their entitlements.

This is a business of peaks and troughs. It has been that way forever; the price of nickel is linked to the price of steel. That is the only difference between what has been faced over decades and what is now being faced under its current management. The role of the member for Fairfax cannot be underestimated here, and I ask that it be investigated. It was his work which saw millions funnelled to his private pursuits. It was this business which became his piggy bank when the funds from CITIC stopped flowing. It was the member for Fairfax and his family who set off on a course they knew would eventually lead to this event. He states that he has retired, but his grubby fingerprints are all over this. There can be no doubt that he has operated as a controlling influence and shadow director here. There can be no doubt that the only interests he was serving were his own. There can be no doubt that the people who have given their working lives, who have done nothing wrong here, are just playthings for this man to throw away.

The options for the shell company are limited. It could be that QNI will go into liquidation. The Fair Entitlements Guarantee would then be enacted, and the retrenched workers would at least get something. However, the bulk of the entitlements and the workers' lost superannuation et cetera would simply be added to the creditors' list of the company with no cash or assets. This is the doing of the current management of Queensland Nickel Sales and all those people involved in it.

I implore Greg Medcraft, Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, to take urgent action on this episode. I urge government bodies such as the taxation office and Federal Police to look at what has happened here and hold those responsible to account.

At the end of the day, the people who have worked at Queensland Nickel have done nothing wrong. They have produced quality products and enhanced our city through hard work in importing a product, refining it and exporting a new product. They have made our city their home. They have done nothing but work hard and produce for their employers. They have not made multimillion dollar donations to political parties. They have not made multimillion dollar purchases of stuff which has nothing to do with the efficient running of a nickel refinery. They have worked hard and produced. To have this happen should make those people involved, possibly including the shadow director, the member for Fairfax, hang their heads in shame.

I also call on the Queensland government to issue the mining lease for the Carmichael mine west of Townsville. It is this project which will see real jobs created from the port all the way out to the mine and back along the railway line to Abbot Point. It will see the growth of our region's ability to produce baseload power and push our region to the forefront in renewable energy and new industry creation.

We are a great city, and we face a real challenge today. But we will come out the other side of this with better jobs, and the member for Fairfax will have absolutely nothing to do with the future of Townsville. I thank the House.