Clive Palmer's nickel refinery cleanup looms as environmental test case

Risk of Queensland taxpayers being left with cleanup bill prompts Palaszczuk government to 'consider legal options' should company go under

Clive Palmer's Townsville nickel refinery looms as a test case for Queensland's environmental cleanup regime, with the Palaszczuk government forced to take legal advice on how to secure funds for a multimillion-dollar site rehabilitation should the company go under.

The prospect of Queensland Nickel going into liquidation would trigger what is understood to be the first major cleanup of a site without a company having paid any bond for rehabilitation up front.