PM rejects Rinehart's high wages claim

The Australian September 05, 2012 5:15PM

AUSTRALIA'S principal federal political leaders have rejected Gina Rinehart's suggestion local wages are too high and are holding back the nation's competitiveness.
The West Australian mining magnate and billionaire said in a video posted online that many of her peers believed Africa, where workers can be hired for less than $2 a day, offered better prospects for investment.

"Australia is indeed becoming too expensive and too uncompetitive to do export-orientated business," Ms Rinehart says.

But Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Australia would always offer proper wages and decent working conditions, and had other advantages compared with places like Africa.

"It's not the Australian way to toss people $2, to toss them a gold coin, and then ask them to work for a day," Ms Gillard told reporters in Perth on Wednesday.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Ms Rinehart was entitled to her ideas.

"But it's not something that the coalition has considered, and it's not something that the coalition's planning for," he told reporters in Bendigo, Victoria.

Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne accused Ms Rinehart of being greedy.

"Look what you're getting - a wealthy woman who tells other people that they should drink less, smoke less, work harder, get paid less, failing to recall of course that her father left her millions to start with," Senator Milne told reporters in Hobart.

"It is as if she thinks the whole country is there to be dug up, smashed and shipped away at slave labour rates."

Ms Rinehart says in the video, which was posted on the Sydney Mining Club website, there's incontrovertible data showing Australia is becoming less competitive, and that Labor's mining and carbon taxes and too much business red tape is making the economy sluggish.

"What was too readily argued as the self-interested complaints of a greedy few is now becoming accepted as the truth and more ominously is showing up in incontrovertible data," she says.

Ms Gillard said Ms Rinehart was a "well-known opponent" of the mining and carbon taxes but denied they were damaging investment in mining projects.

"We've seen billions of dollars of new projects announced," she said.

"We're going to compete on our great mineral deposits, our application of technology and high skills to the task."

Treasurer Wayne Swan said Ms Rinehart's views didn't deserve the publicity they're getting.

"I don't think that in this debate her views about cutting the minimum wage, about bringing in illegal workers, are ones that deserve the amount of publicity that they receive," he said.

"There's been a loud commentary from a few vested interests over a number of years about how we should create wealth and how we should distribute the benefits of the mining boom.

"The government remains absolutely determined that as we grow, we grow together, we don't grow apart."

The Sydney Morning Herald September 6, 2012 - 11:13AM

"The world's biggest troll", Cruella de Vil and a Bond villain. That's one pundit's unflattering portrait of Gina Rinehart, amid largely scathing international coverage of her latest speech.

Much of the overseas coverage of Mrs Rinehart's speech to the Sydney Mining Club, posted on YouTube, has been scathing and sarcastic, with the Atlantic Wire, a sister website to The Atlantic magazine, calling her the "world's biggest troll".

Rinehart knows what it means to pull yourself up by the bootstraps. She inherited a fortune now estimated to be worth about $18 billion. That's a heavy burden to bear
"Rinehart, an Australian, was (we think) trying to make a point about wages and bettering Australia's mining industry," the article said.

"Why she chose to say that Australians should look at the sad state of African miners making less than $2 per day is beyond us."

The part of Mrs Rinehart's speech that drew the widespread criticism was: "The evidence is inarguable that Australia is becoming too expensive and too uncompetitive to do export-oriented business.

"Africans want to work, and its workers are willing to work for less than $2 per day. Such statistics make me worry for this country's future."

The Atlantic Wire article also listed what is known about Mrs Rinehart, examining where her wealth came from, her media interests and politicians' comments about her.

"Essentially all those factors make Rinehart ... that perfect mix of Bond villain, Marie Antoinette and Cruella de Vil - the kind of stinking rich and socially ham-fisted character that's so easy to hate.

"And don't think for second that the politicians and news agencies giving her air time aren't enjoying every second of it."

The BBC estimated that, while Mrs Rinehart was talking about pay rates for African workers, she was earning $600 a second.

The Los Angeles Times reported Mrs Rinehart was "back with some more helpful advice" a week after she told poor Australians to work harder and drink and smoke less.

"Yep, it's getting harder and harder to be a job creator," the article said.

"Rinehart knows what it means to pull yourself up by the bootstraps. She inherited a fortune now estimated to be worth about $18 billion. That's a heavy burden to bear."

Newser covered Mrs Rinehart's speech under the headline "World's Richest Woman's New Idea: Wages of $2 a Day".

"Gina Rinehart, that charming Australian billionaire who last week advised the world's 'jealous' poor to stop whining and drinking so much, is back with more priceless advice.

"The world's richest woman, who amassed her family fortune via iron-ore mining, thinks Australia's struggling mining industry should look to Africa for inspiration."

smh.com.au

The mining magnates want bigger profit. Hence, want to import cheap foreign labour.
The mine workers want higher wages. Don’t want cheap foreign labour to compete with them.
The govt introduces new taxes – viz., mining tax and carbon tax.
China wants more influence on ore pricing.
Really interesting to watch how the events will unfurl.

Pretty badd..

Pretty badd..

You didn't get the picture, mate.
Nothing new. Common power play in the Australian political arena.
Australia is a politically stable country. Won't lead to civil war. Hanggang war of words lang. Worst case scenario, magkaroon ng election.
Currently, the ruling party is the Labour Party. As such, its policies are more favourable for the labour unions. Make them more powerful. Can demand higher wages. Drive the smaller mines to shut down. And larger mines to retrench workers. Impact is minimal. Mines are over-employed. As what happened 30 years ago, one mine halved its workforce. Production doubled.  Yep, that's what makes Australia a great country to live in. Hehehe.
Now, should an election happen and the Coalition Party wins, businessmen will be advantaged. Mining companies will have more freedom to import cheap foreign labour.
One advantage Australia has over other countries like Africa or Brazil is its proximity to the market. E.g., takes 38 extra days for China to get ore from Brazil. These extra days cost extra money.
Another thing. China is not the only buyer for Australian ore. There's also India, Japan, South Korea, etc.
So, lodge your resumes. And keep fine-tuning them. There's always room for improvement. The bottom line is Australia desperately needs workers. More than 2/3 of WA is yet to be explored.
More likely, the powers-that-be will come to a compromise without having to go through an election. Election costs taxpayer money.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation Broadcast: 09/09/2012

Australia's richest person, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, has blasted Australia for being too expensive to do business and said we should look to Africa, where people are willing to work for $2 a day.

(Song plays throughout: Rich Girl – Gwen Stefani)
ROS CHILDS, PRESENTER, MIDDAY: Australia's richest woman has taken to the internet to broadcast a lengthy critique of Australia's economic management.

GINA RINEHART (in video presentation): Australia is indeed becoming too expensive and too uncompetitive.

This country simply can't afford a carbon tax or Minerals Resource Rent tax.

JULIA GILLARD, PRIME MINISTER (on ABC Radio): We have a different view from Ms Rinehart.

WAYNE SWAN (at press conference): Sometimes when I listen to the debate it seems to be conducted in some bizzaro world.

GINA RINEHART (in video presentation): We must get realistic, not just promote class warfare.

WAYNE SWAN (at press conference): I didn't start this at all.

ANTHONY LEHMO LEHMANN, COMEDIAN (on The Project): A Labor spokesperson today has been quoted as saying that “Tony Abbott is the only Australian not sick of Gina Rinehart's pearl rattling.”

TONY ABBOTT, OPPOSITION LEADER (to press): Gina Rinehart has a perfect entitlement to put forward ideas.

WAYNE SWAN (on The Project): The other day she went out and said that people were lazy and they should stop going to the pub. Well I could never agree with that.

GINA RINEHART (in video presentation): Africans want to work, and its workers are willing to work for less than $2 per day.

WAYNE SWAN (at press conference): Her $2 a day vision for Australia ...

JULIA GILLARD (to press): It's not the Australian way to toss people $2. To toss them a $2 gold coin and then ask them to work for a day.

BBC WORLD NEWS NEWSREADER: Gina Rinehart, who's said to earn around $2 million an hour, said Australia should look to Africa, where they pay people on average $2 a day.

CHARLIE PICKERING, HOST, THE PROJECT: She never suggested that Aussies should be working on $2 a day.

WAYNE SWAN (on The Project): Yes but what she did do was suggest there should be a cut to the minimum wage.

CHRISTINE MILNE, GREENS LEADER (to press): Is this the face of Australia that we are proud of? I don't think so.

MARTIN FERGUSON, RESOURCES AND ENERGY MINISTER (at press conference): I acknowledge Gina Rinehart as a serious miner in Australia.

GINA RINEHART (in video presentation): Thank you very much.

MARTINE FERGUSON (at press conference): There's plenty of competition coming our way, look at Indonesia and coal, look at potentially into east Africa.

CHRISTINE MILNE (to press): Martin Ferguson and Gina Rinehart - what a pair.

TONY ABBOTT (to press): We've had the Resources Minister come out today and say that the Government is not going to go ahead with the multi-billion-dollar buy-out of brown coal power stations.

CHRISTINE MILNE (to press): You've got a Minister who will be smiling all the way to the next coal pit.

MARTIN FERGUSON (at press conference): There was no bottomless pit there was an amount of money that I had in my mind in terms of what we were prepared to pay.

JULIA GILLARD (to press): We haven't received a value for money proposal.

CHRISTINE MILNE (to press): Labor can't be trusted on the environment. It's as simple as that.