Article by Salomae Haselgrove courtesy of Australian Mining
Gina Rinehart has praised Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s plan to cut green tape for mining projects.
The Hancock Prospecting chairperson, speaking at the National Mining and Related Industries Day (NMRID), urged the industry to pressure the Western Australian Government to follow the Australian Government’s lead.
Rinehart said she had been “actively waiting a long time” to hear an Australian Prime Minister make an announcement of this sort.
“If high-cost Australia wants to remain internationally competitive and encourage investment to grow its exports, we need our government to cut its onerous, investment deterring burdens of government tape and taxes,” Rinehart said. “Let’s encourage the West Australian Government’s ‘Streamline WA’ initiative to emulate this Commonwealth drive by reducing duplication and regulation at a state level.
“Let’s help our government to focus on and progress significant tax and tape cutting.”
Morrison last week outlined a government plans to create a digital environmental approvals process, pushing a large pipeline of major projects forward during the next decade.
The nationwide digital platform will help projects to start faster and make it easier for businesses to interact with the government directly. Rinehart believes that cutting government tape and taxes is essential to create jobs for Australia’s growing population and bring revenue via exports to the nation’s economy.
She noted the industry’s importance not only to those directly involved with it, but the many other industries that reap the positive benefits of a strong mining industry. “Mining contributes more to our nation than any other industry and in turn, it is the foundations of the many related industries which rely on our industry,” Rinehart said.
“I could list things for hours, there’s very little that doesn’t contain minerals or is fabricated by steel equipment, made from minerals and coking coal.” She applauded the NMRID’s guests for the “massive contribution” they make to the industry and therefore Australia as a whole, providing it with essential resources used every day.
