Ken Talbot

{{Short description|Australian businessman (1950–2010)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

{{Use Australian English|date=September 2011}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Ken Talbot

| image =

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| birth_name =

| birth_date = 26 August 1950

| birth_place = Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2010|6|19|1950|8|26|df=y}}

| death_place = Djoum, Cameroon

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| education = Mitchelton State High School

| organization = Talbot Group

| occupation = Mining executive

| years_active = 1988–2010

| boards = Sundance Resources

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| website = {{Url|http://www.talbotgroup.com.au/}}

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Ken Talbot (26 August 1950 – 19 June 2010) was an Australian mining executive, he was the principal shareholder and former CEO of the Macarthur Coal Ltd mining company. He was the only child of Norman and Nita Talbot (née McIntyre). Talbot temporarily stood down as the CEO of the Macarthur Group Companies when he became embroiled in a controversy involving loans to controversial Labor MP Gordon Nuttall, who was jailed for corruption in July 2009.{{cite web|title=Nuttall jailed for 7 years|url=http://abc.com.au/news/stories/2009/07/17/2628812.htm|date=17 July 2009|publisher=ABC News|accessdate=6 September 2009}}{{cite news|title=Gordon Nuttall sentenced to seven years' jail|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25795306-5003402,00.html|date=17 July 2009|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|accessdate=6 September 2009 | first1=Tony | last1=Keim | first2=Tristan | last2=Swanwick}} At the time of his death, he was a shareholder in Western Australian mining company Sundance Resources.

On 19 January 2007, the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission charged Talbot with corruptly making payments totalling close to $360,000 to Nuttall. He was due to face court in Brisbane on 30 August 2010 on 35 charges relating to corruption.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=10814&cid=5201&id=981 |title=Crime and Misconduct Commission - Media release |access-date=19 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928080036/http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=10814&cid=5201&id=981 |archive-date=28 September 2011 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/business/missing-miner-talbot-ranged-from-coal-to-iron-ore-20100621-ypnc.html|title=Missing miner Talbot ranged from coal to iron ore |date=21 June 2010|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|accessdate=22 June 2010}}

Death

On Saturday, 19 June 2010, Talbot was on a chartered flight between Yaoundé, Cameroon and Congo with his personal assistant, Natasha Flason as well as fellow Sundance Resources executives Geoff Wedlock, Don Lewis, John Carr-Gregg, John Jones and Craig Oliver, when the plane went missing. Rescuers found the wreckage of a missing plane carrying nine passengers and two crew, suspected to be Talbot's aircraft, in Congo on 21 June. There were no survivors.{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/sundance-plane-found-in-congo-with-no-survivors/story-e6frfku9-1225882543956|title=Sundance plane found in Congo with no survivors|date=22 June 2010|work=news.com.au|accessdate=22 June 2010|archive-date=25 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625060633/http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/sundance-plane-found-in-congo-with-no-survivors/story-e6frfku9-1225882543956|url-status=dead}}

Talbot's funeral was held on 14 July 2010.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/14/2952793.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715053707/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/14/2952793.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 July 2010|title=Hundreds honour mining magnate Talbot at funeral|last=Kelly|first=James|author2=Tapim, Francis |date=14 July 2010|work=abc.net.au|accessdate=14 July 2010}} The corruption proceedings against Talbot were formally discharged on 12 August 2010.{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/court-discharges-corruption-case-against-ken-talbot/story-e6frg90f-1225904307538?from=public_rss|title=Court discharges corruption case against Ken Talbot|last=Flately|first=Christine|date=12 August 2010|newspaper=The Australian|accessdate=2 April 2011}}

References