Palmer keen on media ownership
Mining magnate Clive Palmer expresses his desire to own a stake in a media enterprise in order to 'be able to set professional standards for journalists'.
Mining magnate Clive Palmer says he will consider a tilt at media ownership like his billionaire counterpart Gina Rinehart who has become Fairfax Media's biggest single shareholder.
Mr Palmer says he is worried about the level of concentration of media ownership and will consider getting involved like mining industry billionaire and Australia's richest woman Gina Rinehart, who this week was behind a $192 million raid of Fairfax.
"Fairfax looks very exciting," Mr Palmer told ABC Television's Lateline last night.
Clive Palmer on ABC's Lateline last night.
"We've certainly got the money and we'd certainly like to see media in Australia become much higher [quality].
"She's a very, very smart woman so if she's going after Fairfax there must be something in it."
Mr Palmer said he was more interested in the ability to set professional standards for journalists than exert influence over government policy.
"Being in Fairfax, providing some service to the community, working with a person like Gina Rinehart sounds very attractive to me.
"Of course we'd want 30 per cent, not 15, and we'd go much more aggressively to make sure the company got things moving."
When asked if he would seriously consider entering into a media partnership with Ms Rinehart, he said: "Absolutely. She's a wonderful Australian serving the country. We've certainly got excess money to spend."
Mr Palmer said he would consider Queensland, which needed another newspaper.
"The Telegraph was a wonderful paper. The Courier-Mail - it's become more like a Woman's Day or a Women's Weekly."
Mr Palmer has been angered by media reports citing a letter his company, Waratah Coal, sent to Queensland Co-ordinator General Keith Davies about a proposed rail project in the Galilee Basin.
The letter asked Mr Davies to explain why he had given rail operator QR National, which is one third owned by the government, significant project status.
The letter said the decision conflicted with the significant project status granted to Waratah Coal's China First rail project in 2008.
Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser leaked the confidential letter from Mr Palmer to the media, saying he wanted to expose the Liberal National Party backer as a bully.
Mr Palmer alleged on Lateline the Queensland government had acted illegally by declaring a project a state significant project over the same land his company presently held a licence over.
"They've acted illegally, they've done that for political expediency," he said.
Mr Palmer's company has told QR it wants to sue for $8 billion in damages after it walked away from negotiations with the Waratah Coal-owned company, China First, to start its own rail corridor project.
"We have not and do not consent to their use of our proprietary planning, engineering and confidential information for this improper declaration," the January 30 letter said.
Mr Palmer said the letter was written by his company's legal director and "entirely appropriate" to have been given to Mr Davies.
"It was entirely inappropriate that he gave it to the minister, it was entirely inappropriate that he leaked it to the press," he said.
"And he started to bully us and put this out in the public area, all I've done is respond to it.
"It's of great disappointment to me the matter's been publicly aired at all, it doesn't give good confidence to people doing business with the government."
AAP
40 comments
More comments
Comments are now closed