Article by Brad Thompson, courtesy of The Australian.
Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart’s rallying cry to Australians ahead of the federal election is “make our bank accounts great again” as she urges the Coalition to follow the lead of Donald Trump with an uncompromising policy agenda.
Mrs Rinehart borrowed from Mr Trump’s Make America Great Again mantra after revelling in his political comeback and spending election night at the Republican leader’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The WA-based iron ore titan warned Australia’s conservative parties it was no time for those who were LINOs (Liberal in Name Only), with the nation set to follow the US to the polls next year.
Mrs Rinehart called for bold, unapologetic policies from a Coalition that should be emboldened by the Trump victory.
“This is not a time for LINOs, timidly fiddling around a few edges, careful not to upset the minority noisies or rapidly increasing bureaucrats, none of whom will ever vote for the ¬Coalition. We need make Australia great again,” she said.
Australian richest person also took aim at the Albanese government, saying the ALP faced electoral death unless it abandoned the so-called nature positive legislation that has alarmed the mining industry.
Mrs Rinehart delivered the hard-hitting speech – entitled “Now is not the time for RINOS (Republican in name only) or LINOS – on the state of the Australian economy and Albanese government policies to mark ¬National Mining Day on Friday, an event backed by her private company, Hancock Prospecting.
She spoke at a dinner hosted by oil and gas producer Santos at its Moomba project in South Australia and highlighted the importance of the fossil fuel to the economy and households.
Mrs Rinehart also quoted the US president-elect’s “drill, baby, drill” catch cry, but warned drilling, exploration and project development were becoming harder under policy setting in Australia.
“(It’s) essential for getting gas to supply homes and industry around Australia. Well maybe it’s just a little timid whisper out here in Australia now, as it’s getting so darned hard to ‘drill, baby, drill’,” she said.
“These days some like to claim that our country can run on sunshine and windmills. By all means put these on your own properties if you wish, but stop forcing this on us taxpayers, when the wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun doesn’t always make it to solar panels.”
Mrs Rinehart said the Albanese government had “made a choice to make it much harder to develop resources projects ¬essential to maintain our living standards”.
The claim is backed up by Minerals Councils of Australia research showing most of the big resources projects on the drawing board will not proceed and Fraser Institute polling showing WA slipping down the rankings for mining investment.
Mining giants BHP, Rio Tinto and Glencore have all expressed concerns about Albanese and state government policies in Australia as investment opportunities become more attractive. The various concerns include the nature positive laws, industrial relations changes, royalty hikes and approvals duplication.
Mrs Rinehart, who met Trump-backer Elon Musk after the US election, said Australia needed a US-style department of government efficiency.
“If we want this (declining investment) to change, it is the time for leadership with courage,” she said. “Let’s not be frightened to learn from the success of president-elect Donald Trump.
“This president-elect surrounds himself with people who already are an outstanding success, so that he can deliver, make America great again.
“So what should we do? As I have repeatedly stated, we need to cut government tape, regulations, governments wastage and tax burdens across Australia.
“We need a USA-style DOGE that delivers action, one that helps to return dollars to our pockets and investment back to Australia. Don’t be frightened to call for ‘make our bank accounts great again’.”
Mrs Rinehart hit out at the use of taxpayer funds to fly politicians and bureaucrats to “luxurious gabfests around the world in aid of banning fossil fuels”.
“This expensive net-zero cult sure likes to use lots of fossil fuels for their many, many trips, including using hundreds of private jets,” she said in what appeared to be a thinly veiled swipe at billionaire green energy crusaders such as Andrew Forrest.
Mrs Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has invested heavily in oil and gas on top of its interests in mining and agriculture.
Alongside Korean partner POSCO and in the face of “damaging government intervention”, Hancock has invested a further $1bn in Queensland gas producer Senex to triple production from 2022 levels.
And Hancock plans to supply gas to the WA and export market as soon as possible after striking a $1.13bn deal to buy assets in the Perth Basin from Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources.
“People in the east need this gas,” Mrs Rinehart said of the latest investment in Senex.
“Those who want reliable energy, please make the time to advocate for sensible policies that encourage additional supply, and cutting those that don’t.”
Mrs Rinehart said price controls, approvals delays and the “wrongly named nature positive plan” threatened energy supply.
“We thought this had died its natural, not positive for Australians, death,” she said of the nature positive laws Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has worked on for most of this year.
“Well, it will be the death of the Labor Party at the next election if the ALP is foolish enough to pass this. And market interference (via government-imposed price caps) doesn’t encourage more supply. Without more supply prices will rise, impacting consumers already suffering from the cost-of-living crisis and businesses that rely on natural gas.”
