In 2001, Andrew Forrest was declared by a Victorian Supreme Court judge to be “an untruthful witness”.
What to make of his claim today then that the Abbott government’s decision not to hold an inquiry into the iron ore industry is a case of “enormous political pressure put on the government of the day”?
Forrest wants to bring “transparency and openness into an industry which has been opaque to the Australian people for too long”. He now refers to his competitors as “the multinationals” and says this is another example of their power, which they demonstrated in relation to the mining tax. “I was hoping for a stronger reaction from this government than last government,” he said.
Perhaps Forrest hopes we’ve forgotten the pictures of him and mining heiress Gina Rinehart leading a hysterical rally against the mining tax in Perth, complete with Forrest decked out in a high-vis vest to show how he’s really just a super-wealthy dirt shoveller at heart. Or Forrest’s attempts both to browbeat the Rudd government and negotiate behind the scenes with it to alter the original version of the mining tax.
Now Forrest is lamenting the same wielding of the same power over governments by companies even bigger and more powerful than his. “I’m not going to give up until the Australian people learn the truth,” he says. Which truth is that, Crikey wonders — the truth that the mining industry in Australia is powerful enough that elected politicians tremble under its gaze?
That was already clear.
Maybe the government is uncomfortable about intervening in a free market.
Have you thought about that? Probably, but it doesn’t fit your anti business campaign does it.
From the above article: Perhaps Forrest hopes we’ve forgotten the pictures of him and mining heiress Gina Rinehart leading a hysterical rally against the mining tax in Perth, complete with Forrest decked out in a high-vis vest to show how he’s really just a super-wealthy dirt shoveller at heart. Or Forrest’s attempts both to browbeat the Rudd government and negotiate behind the scenes with it to alter the original version of the mining tax.
Now Forrest is lamenting the same wielding of the same power over governments by companies even bigger and more powerful than his. “I’m not going to give up until the Australian people learn the truth,” he says. Which truth is that, Crikey wonders — the truth that the mining industry in Australia is powerful enough that elected politicians tremble under its gaze?
Ha, ha, ha, what a laugh. Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swann must be having a good laugh also. Twig dear chap read the law of supply and demand. Too much supply, too little demand, …price comes down. Too little supply and too much demand, …price goes up.
Now the Chinese are courting Brazil iron ore producers, in particular, Vale, and its already said that Brazil iron ore exports could eclipse ours within the decade. Twig, you better get a flat bed truck a high-vis vest for you and Gina, and try your luck in Brazil and China; don’t offer any incentives in China to curry favour, they tend to lock people up for doing that. After-all China is not Australia, politicians sometimes take a dim view of antics you displayed in the past.
Lastly, what’s the talk nowadays FMG being relegated to junk status? oh dear, how sad, never mind. As they say what goes around comes around.
David Hand@1
“Maybe the government is uncomfortable about intervening in a free market”
That “free market” isn’t so free for the taxpayer with all those billions in subsidies gifted to the mining industry.
The only “free” part of the “market” in question is the ability of multinational corporations to freely impose their will on Australia’s law makers.
Also, scrutiny is not intervention.
Ah yes Zeke,
That old faithful about miners not paying excise on their diesel.
They probably should have when it was first introduced but the political sales pitch at the time for taxing petrol was that it would pay for roads and those big mine trucks don’t use roads. In fact the miners have to build their own roads. Sixty or so years on, fuel excise has become a general consumption tax, so you now have an easy target for someone else to pay more tax.
But what’s that got to do with the article? It is completely irrelevant but if it makes you feel better……