News

The issues that most concern me in thinking about Australia’s need for reform are not the external developments that seem to get most attention, like the prospect of global recession or resurgent protectionism, or even the “climate emergency”, as it is now called. The biggest challenges are ones we’ve created for ourselves. I don’t just mean the inflationary fallout from Covid, which the Treasurer has recently called the “defining challenge of our time”, but policies that have damaged our economy’s ability to cope with change, to be competitive and support economic growth. These and other findings went over pretty well with both sides of politics at the time, as I recall. So the policy outlook seemed hopeful. How on Earth then did we end up with the costly hotchpotch of measures we’ve got today? How did we get to a situation in which electricity will not only become a luxury but an unreliable one?

Gina Rinehart may have made her fortune in mining, but she has also put her stamp on Australian agriculture. That was clear when she stepped forward to buy the famous S Kidman and Co holdings in 2016, making her Australia’s biggest landowner, controlling more than 10 million hectares. Ms Rinehart has since been one of the most active purchasers of Australia farmland, but in the past few years has diluted her property holdings. However, she still owns a commanding six million hectares, running about 240,000 cattle, with an eye on new purchases along the east coast. Ms Rinehart, who is not reluctant in making her views known, is a strong advocate for Australian agriculture.

Little help for disaster victims as aid trickles in. 8 January 2023.

WA’s powerhouse red meat processing sector injected $21 billion into Australia’s economy and $1.3b into the State last calendar year, a new report has revealed. The independent report commissioned by the Australian Meat Processor Corporation estimated the industry supported 8400 fulltime equivalent jobs in WA, totalling $470 million of household income annually.

Costs and labour shortages burden WA companies Business confidence in WA has slumped to its lowest level since the onset of the pandemic nearly three years ago as companies battle cost pressures and skills shortages. On average, each business is trying to fill six vacancies — with professional services, resources and retail most affected. Four in five report struggling to find particular skill sets.

“Businesses will carry a much heavier regulatory burden which inevitably leads to less productive workplaces. It is not a long term recipe for wage growth, it is the opposite.” WA’s mining giants including Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto have been among the most vocal critics, saying there was no evidence the reforms backed by unions would create real wages growth or boost productivity.