Clive Palmer quits as Mineralogy director amid legal dispute; A third of the NBN not working: Midday Roundup

Clive Palmer has stepped down as director of Mineralogy, with some reports suggesting the billionaire is attempting to evade allegations that he wrongfully spent a business partner’s money.

State-owned Chinese company CITIC Pacific is alleging Palmer spent more than $12 million of its funds in the weeks before the federal election.

A spokesperson for Palmer says his decision to stand down was motivated by media commentary, and denies the ongoing dispute with CITIC Pacific was a factor.

Mineralogy is in legal disputes with CITIC Pacific over iron ore royalties from a port at Cape Preston, WA.

A third of NBN not working

Around 118,000 businesses and homes that should have been connected to the national broadband network can’t use the service because of defective fibre connections, reports Fairfax.

Fixing the problem is set to cost tens of millions of dollars, as many of the underground pipes that connect the buildings to fibre cabling on the street are damaged or missing.

The problems exist at more than one-third of all existing premises passed by the fibre-optic network.

Aussie shares up

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was up 24.3 points to 5461.2 points at 12:10pm AEST. On Thursday, the Dow Jones closed 98.58 points higher, up 0.59% to 16,836.1 points.