Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I cannot tell you how disgusted and appalled I was to get four copies of books from the previous member for Fairfax and the owner of Queensland Nickel. He blatantly let things go to the pack in Townsville, where over 800 people lost their jobs. There are still people in my community who do not have a job since Clive Palmer closed Queensland Nickel. There are people like Peter Koitka, who is owed $27,000, and there are other people who are collectively owed hundreds of thousands of dollars of their entitlement. There are people close to retirement who have not been paid.

I demand that Clive Palmer pay their entitlements instead of swanning around the world having luxury holidays and not looking after his workers. It is disrespectful and completely unacceptable to the workers in Townsville that Clive invests in this litany of egotistical self-interest that he has sent out to every member of parliament whilst workers in my community have not had their entitlements paid. Right now I have a recycling bin in my office. I am inviting members and senators to come and put these books in the recycling bin for a demonstration to Clive Palmer that that is where he put the people of Townsville.

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