It fell somewhat short of being a progress report.I'm most interested in the bit about Titanic II.
CLIVE Palmer’s prized asset is under threat of being closed down by federal authorities seeking to recover looming debts of $36 million.
Government agencies are moving to force the company, Queensland Nickel, into insolvency if it cannot pay a carbon tax bill that will triple over the year ahead as penalties apply.
The agencies are canvassing an alternative plan to sue for the cash in a court case that would not only capture the nickel refinery but associated entities and directors, including Mr Palmer.
The Palmer United Party leader is campaigning for this Saturday’s re-run of the West Australian Senate election where his party is trying to win a seat to secure a balance of power position.
He wants not only to scrap the carbon tax but have it retrospectively abolished and has flooded the airwaves with an advertising blitz.
Documents obtained by The Australian under Freedom of Information laws show the regulator’s determination to ensure that nobody liable for the tax can gain an unfair advantage by delaying a payment. The Clean Energy Regulator, which collects the carbon tax, has instructed the government solicitor to prepare both actions after giving Mr Palmer’s company a final warning in December about the failure to pay the impost.
Mr Palmer, the federal MP for the Queensland seat of Fairfax, refused to pay a $6.2m carbon tax bill due last June and has launched a High Court action to declare it unconstitutional.
The debt is mounting under penalty provisions and will escalate further even if the Abbott government succeeds in repealing the carbon tax with Mr Palmer’s support in parliament.
The next penalties on Mr Palmer and his company are being described as a “double whammy” because they deny him carbon permits that would offset two-thirds of next year’s bill. The Australian has confirmed the debt will reach $35.8m at the end of this financial year, based on the regulator’s policy documents, briefings from experts and advice from lawyers.
While 370 companies paid the carbon tax when it fell due, Queensland Nickel is now the only company refusing to pay. Two others, Penrice Soda and Wollongong Coal, missed their payments but are negotiating payment in an effort to avoid court action.
The Clean Energy Regulator’s board including chairwoman Chloe Munro has signed off on a policy that requires all debtors
to pay when cash is due on the grounds the agency cannot be a credit provider.
Those that do not pay on time end up with a debt of 130 per cent of their initial notice plus 20 per cent annual interest on the outstanding amount.
Applying the same approach as the ATO, the carbon regulator has full authority to pursue the debt while the High Court case goes on.
The regulator would not identify individual companies when releasing documents under FOI laws, nor would it disclose correspondence with any debtors.
The legal threat to Mr Palmer was made clear in December when the CER sent Queensland Nickel a draft notice under Section 459E of the Corporations Act, a precursor to seeking to wind up the company. Asked about his carbon tax bill yesterday, Mr Palmer said: “I don’t talk to The Australian. Goodbye.”
Mr Palmer’s public relations firm, the Crook Group, declined to respond to questions.
Mr Palmer has dismissed questions about a conflict between his role as a legislator and as a business owner who refuses to comply with the carbon tax law.
“I don’t have to justify it, that’s just the reality of it,” he told the National Press Club in November. “It’s not me complying with anything. Companies I own are not me. I’m a different person.”
Penrice lost more than 55 jobs as a result of the carbon tax and the higher dollar and is now working with the regulator to settle an original charge of $1.9m from last year.
“We have no beef with the current government, which is the collector of the tax rather than the designer of it,” Penrice chief executive Guy Roberts said. “Looking forward, we hope there isn’t a carbon tax.”
Wollongong Coal, which changed its name from Gujarat NRE after a financial crisis last year, would not comment other than to say it was working with the CER to resolve outstanding liabilities.
Norton Rose Fulbright partner Elisa de Wit said the repeal of the carbon tax scheme was drafted in such a way that the Clean Energy Regulator would continue to enforce compliance after the last due date for the carbon tax next February. “This means any companies that have not fully satisfied their liability by this date can continue to be pursued by the regulator and the likely outcome at this point would be debt recovery proceedings.
“Companies covered by the carbon price would risk exposure of increased financial consequences if they decided that, in light of the foreshadowed repeal, they would cease complying.”
Under the Jobs and Competitiveness Program, Queensland Nickel received 554,791 free carbon units for the production of nickel and 26,679 free carbon units for the production of ammonia during 2012-13. It accepted these from the government to reduce its carbon tax obligation. Clause 808 of the regulations states that companies owing money to the regulator must lose an amount of free units equivalent to the debt.
Experts described this as a “double whammy” because it imposes a new penalty while keeping the original debt.
Queensland Nickel would receive fewer free units this year assuming no change in production, leaving it liable to a further amount of $15.6m. (Equivalent to 414,078 forgone free units multiplied by $31.40 per tonne of carbon, with 20 per cent interest).
Added to last year’s $10.1m debt and a similar $10.1m charge this year, the loss of free units is set to take its shortfall to $35.8m after June.
It fell somewhat short of being a progress report.
Meanwhile, it looks like there's a problem with the ATO.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...d-over-36m-bill/story-e6frg9df-1226870366207#
Just heard the same thing.Doc, I believe I heard on the news this morning that Palmer has just paid the Queensland nickel bill for the carbon tax.
A spokesperson for the Clean Energy Regulator, which collects the carbon tax, at 1.30pm said it had “no record of payment” from Queensland Nickel.
“The Clean Energy Regulator is currently investigating whether Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd has made any payments towards the debt in the last 24 hours. We have no record of payment having been received at this stage,” the spokesperson said.
In a separate interview with Fairfax Media this morning, Mr Palmer said the payment “had been authorised by the bank and was going through … It should be through in three hours though it’s all electronic you know”.
Mr Palmer says newspaper reports suggesting the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) was preparing to shut down Queensland Nickel over the unpaid bill are false.
"The Clean Energy [Regulator] wrote to us and said we had until the 5th of April," Mr Palmer told the ABC.
"We wrote back and said we would [pay], and I think it was paid yesterday.
"It's well before the due date of the 5th of April."
Mr Palmer, the federal MP for the Queensland seat of Fairfax and leader of the Palmer United Party, appears eager to neutralise the story about his carbon debt before this weekend's re-run of the West Australian Senate Election.
But the issue is unlikely to disappear, with the Clean Energy Regulator confirming Mr Palmer's Queensland Nickel owes the government $8.44 million in its 2012-13 carbon tax liabilities. Not only that, the nickel refinery owes a further $1 million in late penalties accrued by March 27, leaving a total debt so far of about $9.5 million, the regulator said.
"The Clean Energy Regulator is currently investigating whether Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd has made any payments towards the debt in the last 24 hours," a spokeswoman for the Clean Energy Regulator said.
"We have no record of payment having been received at this stage".
Shortly after noon on Thursday, Mr Palmer tweeted: "Qld Nickel's $6.8M Carbon Tax bill paid today before due date of April 5 as requested by the Clean Energy Regulator".
FOR six months, self-described billionaire Clive Palmer has refused to pay a $5300 bill owed to a small country race club that hosted a “calamari and chips” night for his political party.
Mr Palmer and one of his high-profile federal election candidates, the former State of Origin and Penrith NRL star Matt Adamson, have been squabbling over who owes the debt since September’s poll.
The petty row has upset Taree-Wingham Race Club directors, who have carried the debt since being told last July to buy enough food to cater for an expected crowd of 200 people.
Calamari Clive has a habit of welching on payments.
http://www.news.com.au/national/cli...-clubs-5300-debt/story-fncynjr2-1226862712419
Especially when he agrees to pay on April Fools Day.
Palmer has upset the Chinese......I wonder if he will sue them for defamation......I also wonder whether this man sleeps at night......He can have his billions for my liking.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...campaign-chinese/story-fnk76wj3-1226909593972
Memo to Clive:
1. When you put your name up to represent people at the Australian Parliament, then if elected, its a good idea to turn up.
2. When you do finally make it and occupy your seat its a good idea to stay awake.
3. When you get to vote on various legislations, as is your privelige, its would be good to average more than one per term/session.
4. Don't mingle with the Labor party too much as you will get into the habit of blaming Tony Abbott for your own failings.
5. Otherwise people are going to think your a buffoon! Oops, I mean a rich buffoon!
I think Mr Palmer will have some explaining to do if his Chinese partners start delving into his Western Australian Mineralogy affairs of siphoning off cash for Palmer's electioneering campaigns. ($12.000,000).
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...itic-cash-demand/story-fn59niix-1226912445201
This is an interesting explanation from Ian Verrender, ABC Radio Business Editor, on Clive Palmer's current somewhat awkward business position, especially with respect to the mess that is what was once supposed to be such a great deal with the Chinese partner Citic Pacific.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/clive-takes-on-china/5473682
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?