Basic HTML Version
BY RON MANNERS
CHAIRMAN – MANNWEST GROUP AND
MANNKAL ECONOMIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Why are so many of Australia’s resource industry and
business leaders often disengaged from any of the political
and economic issues that threaten our industry? Little wonder
that our very ‘portable’ exploration funds are driven overseas,
along with our most precious wealth-generating asset – our
productive people.
There is no shortage of issues where our leaders have failed
to show much courage:
• ‘access to land’ issues, and land use restrictions arising
from extreme environmentalism;
• the ‘Anti Mining Tax’ (RSPT or MRTT, or whatever the
name change brings), where success in our industry
is penalised; and
• the concept that by levying yet another tax, called
a ‘carbon pollution tax’, to all productive industries,
it will somehow allow politicians to regulate the
earth’s temperature.
All public companies have high-powered public relations
departments ready to send the Chairman or CEO’s message loud
and clear to millions of shareholders. These PR departments
have lists of all the media outlets in the country and they have
the ability to clearly tell their story, and the story of the mining
and exploration industry, through their Chairman’s addresses
and CEO’s reports in annual and quarterly reports.
Why, in the face of such monstrous imposts, do our leaders
remain deafeningly silent and refuse to use their effective
networking skills?
Two possible reasons.
Firstly, perhaps they do not understand what the ‘anti-
industry’ lobby (with political guidance from the Green
extremes) have in mind. A Garden of Eden with absolutely
nothing happening.
If this is the reason, a quick read of Ayn Rand’s book,
Why
Businessmen Need Philosophy
, would give them a quick jolt.
Most likely it is reason number two: simple fear!
Political retribution is again at levels unseen since Prime
Minister Keating, in the mid-1990s. For those of you who do not
run research files, let me quote from
The Australian Financial
Review
(20 December 1994), which ran the following under the
headline – ‘
Revealed: how Keating bullies business
’:
On The Road To
Exploration
Success..
.
ASX: RXL
P: +61 8 9226 0044 F: +61 8 9322 6254
www.roxresources.com.au
MT FISHER GOLD
PROJECT, WA
MYRTLE ZINC
PROJECT, NT
MARQUA PHOSPHATE
PROJECT, NT
GOOD BYE FUNDS,
With its mission of strengthening the Australian free market
system, the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation is a not-
for-profit organisation that believes ideas matter. Foundation
Chairman Ron Manners has contributed regularly to Minesite,
with his lively and provocative brand of observation, and this
issue is no exception.
Ideas that have mattered in previous issues have included the
need to recognise the valuable opportunity the global financial
crisis of 2009 presented everyone in terms of encouraging
individual determination. Then last year, Ron reflected on the level
of damage over-regulating governments imposed on Australian
business, and how Thomas Jefferson could well have been
right with his assertions that “a little rebellion, now and then,
is a good thing”.
In this year’s article, Ron is sure to continue galvanizing lively
debate and discussion as he challenges what level of voice our
industry leaders should use to get their opinions heard, particularly
when it comes to opposition of some of the striking trials
and tribulations being inflicted on the mining and exploration
industry recently.
Ron concludes that there is little wonder many of our
exploration dollars and so many of our skilled operators continue
to depart from our shores. This has to be an idea that matters!
FAREWELL PEOPLE