Olympic Dam

Let’s not beat about the bush. Tony Abbott tells lies. So what? Is there anything surprising about that? After all, he’s a politician.

But it needs to be pointed out because the central message from Abbott supporters is that the prime minister is the liar - Ju-liar, in fact, according to the likes of Alan Jones. The opposition leader is portrayed, and portrays himself, as the epitome of honesty. A man whose word can always be trusted.

Abbott’s lieutenants were even pleased when he was tossed out of parliament on Monday because it got his offending comment - accusing Julia Gillard of lying - into the headlines.

Continue reading "Have you heard the one about the politician who lies?" »

Tony Abbott should take some acting lessons.

On Wednesday he tried to affect the hangdog tone of a man gutted by the news that BHP had shelved its $30 billion expansion of Olympic Dam. Yet he came across as an opportunist who could barely disguise his perverse glee at the demise of a project which he and some of his team have been death-riding for months, with no regard for the economic fallout on a state which desperately needs a win.

Abbott led his team of SA Liberals by their noses into one of the parliamentary gardens for a collective display of sorrow. The MPs he surrounded himself with are largely smart people and all proud South Australians and know much more about this project than North Shore Tony does, as was amply demonstrated by his abysmal performance on the ABC’s 730 program where he parroted one-liners about the mining tax and carbon tax and ducked all relevant details about the specifics of the BHP decision.

Continue reading "Abbott mines a rich vein of rank opportunism" »

All those rocks and vapors we have been selling to overseas customers by the boatload have protected Australia from the economic frailty of other countries and made it a freak of the industrialised world. So any suggestions revenue from those gasses and gravel is likely to fall steeply is a matter of huge concern.

Particularly at a time when the Government is facing higher and additional bills while scrambling to present a minimalist Budget surplus.

Thus the trepidation is understandable when giant miner BHP Billiton defers a $30 billion Olympic Dam expansion in South Australia because of, in part, “subdued commodity prices”. Is this the the first sign of the minerals bubble deflating?

Continue reading "Boom! Could its end blow up the Budget?" »

The Australian Greens want to stop all uranium exploration, close all of Australia’s existing uranium mines, oh, and while they’re at it, they’d also like a nuclear free world.

Guess what: It’s not going to happen. It’s bad policy, naive politics, and exhibits an undergraduate response to federal politics which is unbecoming in a party soon to hold the balance of power in the Senate.

Added to that, it’s a stance which assumes that the debate about the utility of nuclear power for climate change reduction is over, and that it’s been found wanting. This is far from the case.

Continue reading "Greens think locally, act stupidly on uranium" »

South Australia stands at the edge of a potential golden era, a golden era of opportunity like the state has never seen before.

It turns out that South Australia sits on a giant bed of yellow cake that, if managed properly, will drive the state for generations.  As China and India continue to grow at nearly 10% per year with no sign of stopping soon, their insatiable appetite for energy resources grows along with it.

For instance between now and 2050 China will require an additional terawatt of power just to sustain their current levels of growth.  Given the desire to build emission free power plants, uranium is in high demand as a fuel of choice around the world particularly amongst developing countries.

Continue reading "The dambusters: tax review’s threat to mining" »