Article courtesy of the Herald Sun.
Agriculture and mining magnate Gina Rinehart says Australia risks killing “the geese laying the golden egg” as farmers struggle under the burdens of government red tape and tax.
Writing exclusively for News Corp’s Bush Summit special 16-page liftout, Mrs Rinehart said the nation needed a change of mindset – and quickly – with policies that risk investment going elsewhere becoming a “danger to our
children and grandchildren’s future”.
“We are seeing massive rates of business failure at the moment, the highest on record for some time, and our agricultural and mining industries are struggling with ever-increasing government-imposed burdens of tape and tax,” she said.
“We are in the longest running per capita recession on record, threatening our living standards.
“Those in the bush are struggling, especially with high costs, we’ve warned they are struggling before, but are we
listening, are we truly turning our minds to this?”
Mrs Rinehart said the elimination of the direct costs of payroll tax, licence fees and stamp duties is what would “actually help the farmer and those in the bush”. “… all of which were promised to go decades ago when GST came in,” she said.
“But governments got too large, too expensive, so these promised cuts never occurred.”
Farmers and pastoralists especially are increasingly under attack, Mrs Rinehart said, and are having to leave their beloved farms as a consequence.
“The engine room of our nation is in the bush,” she said.
“But if we increasingly limit this engine… let’s start to think of the consequences.
“Far away from the city convenience of Melbourne and Sydney, it is our country areas where the vast majority of our wealth is produced, and consequent tax revenue.
“Tax revenue that provides for our nurses, police, hospitals, health care, our increasing numbers of elderly, emergency services and veterans (and much more). Stopping or delaying the engine providing the tax revenue, which of these important needs should be cut?
“If you’d prefer none, then we must have a mindset change.”
Mrs Rinehart said Bush Summit was an opportunity to raise these problems and devise solutions.
“If we continue to saddle our contributors with additional costs and government burdens, we are going to foolishly kill the geese laying the golden eggs,” she said
