Wayne Swan no threat to mining tycoons

March 9, 2012
Issue 
Wayne Swan.
Wayne Swan.

Media watchers should be forgiven for a degree of confusion over statements by federal treasurer and deputy prime minister Wayne Swan in the past two weeks.

He began the month with a Press Club address, March edition titled 鈥淭he 0.01%鈥 where he attacked 鈥渢he rising power of vested interests鈥 鈥 naming mining magnates Clive Palmer, Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart 鈥 for 鈥渦ndermining our equality and threatening our democracy鈥.

Then the Australian Financial Review broke the hardly surprising story that Greenpeace is seeking donations to campaign against coal industry expansion.

Suddenly, , calling the anti-coal movement 鈥渋rrational鈥, 鈥渄eeply irresponsible鈥 and 鈥渄estructive鈥.

LaTrobe University鈥檚 opinion piece: 鈥淥n Monday, Treasurer Wayne Swan assailed coal magnate Clive Palmer for using his wealth to influence government policy. On Tuesday, Swan attacked environmental organisation Greenpeace for threatening Palmer鈥檚 wealth.鈥

What is Swan actually on about? Is he for or against the miners?

Swan was a key player in the move to ditch former PM Kevin Rudd and install Julia Gillard in his place. This took place on the back of a $22 million mining industry advertising campaign against Rudd鈥檚 proposed mining tax.

Perhaps quite innocently, The Monthly鈥檚 March edition also contains in Parliament House on the night Rudd was deposed.

He wrote: 鈥淕illard鈥檚 office 鈥 was filled with men I鈥檇 never seen before. Not one. Standing there I received an SMS that Gillard and Swan had been 鈥榞iven the nod鈥 by the three big mining companies 鈥 Xstrata, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton 鈥 beforehand, letting it be known that the ads attacking the government for its proposed tax on miners鈥 super profits would be pulled.鈥

Now energy and resources minister Martin Ferguson backed Rudd鈥檚 recent challenge to Gillard. It鈥檚 reported that he and Swan aren鈥檛 best friends over the Rudd affair. Is there a policy divergence between Swan and Ferguson over mining too? Not at all.

Ferguson鈥檚 department has prepared a white paper on the future of energy. It suggests Australia鈥檚 coal exports can quadruple and liquefied natural gas exports can triple.

As a as 鈥淭wiggy Palmock, CEO of Extratum Mining鈥 put it in a comedic interjection at a Melbourne presentation on the Energy white paper: 鈥淭hank you Mr Ferguson, for being such an effective puppet for the fossil fuel industry.鈥 The interjection was accompanied by 鈥渁 鈥榝rack鈥 of Fergusons鈥 鈥 a group of supporters who stood together in Martin Ferguson facemasks.

Sinclair Davidson, from the pro-mining industry Institute for Public Affairs, said in a March 6 ABC The Drum article that in this Monthly essay. This, he said, is 鈥渢he economists鈥 ultimate insult鈥.

But nowhere in his essay does Swan use the term 鈥渞ent-seeker鈥. Swan attacked mining tycoons that 鈥減our their considerable personal fortunes into advertising, armies of lobbyists, dodgy modelling and corporate and commercial manoeuvring designed to influence editorial decisions鈥.

He suggests Gina Rinehart is buying into Fairfax Media 鈥渋n an attempt to wield greater influence on public opinion and further her commercial interests at a time when the overwhelming economic consensus is that it鈥檚 critical to use the economic weight of the resources boom to strengthen the entire economy鈥.

If you strip away all Swan鈥檚 talk about 鈥渕iddle-class Australia鈥 and the 鈥渟ocial contract鈥, this is the essence of what Labor鈥檚 mining tax is about.

Socialist tax academic as 鈥渁 redistributive measure from a very profitable section of capital to all of capital through company tax cuts鈥.

There is no government plan to stop either the profits or the pollution of the mining sector. Labor needs to appear to do something to share the mining boom wealth around. That鈥檚 what is behind Swan鈥檚 public foray into apparent criticism of 鈥渧ested interests鈥.

If the collective noun for a group of Martin Fergusons is a 鈥渇rack鈥, there are several options for Swans, according to Wikipedia. While they are on the ground, the term is 鈥渂ank鈥 鈥 an appropriate term for the treasurer, perhaps. Swans in flight are referred to as a 鈥渨edge鈥.

In politics, Wikipedia says a 鈥渨edge鈥 is an issue 鈥渨hich splits apart or creates a 鈥榳edge鈥 in the support base of one political group鈥.

If the Australian population come to understand the hypocrisy that is behind the Labor government鈥檚 attitude to mining and climate issues, Labor will indeed be wedged and we may well see Swan in flight.

Swan鈥檚 agenda is not about taking from the 1% to give to the 99%. It鈥檚 certainly not about protecting the environment. It鈥檚 about taking from the 0.01% to give to the remainder of the 1%, to ensure their stability in ruling the 99%. It鈥檚 about sharing the wealth of the mining boom with other business interests, not the battlers.

That鈥檚 why he has censured the mining billionaires with words that conservative critics have called 鈥渃lass war鈥. It鈥檚 a smokescreen. He wants to keep his position in the bank.

Comments

Great article! No wonder Labor is loosing it's support base, who see through their party leadership hypocrisy. Labor left should jump the sinking rotten ship they're in, and join with the socialist alliance and greens before they are obliterated by their colleagues on the right who belong in the nazi Liberal/Katter party.
The Nazi (Liberal) party has the majority vote right now so does that make Australia the Nazi country? Be careful Jews and gay the Nazis are back! I do hope you don芒聙聶t use that word to belittle and insult everyone you dislike because you芒聙聶re cheapening the evil of the real Nazis and insulting the victims.
I love how a right-wing party comes out and says the equivalent to the diet coke of left wing things... I'm glad he is saying something though... the Labor party has gone so far to the right that its become the big end of towns little political play toy. Actions speak louder than words Mr Swan and we need to see some action from Labor or by next election your gone and we will go into Abbotts Abyss.

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