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Geologist Ian Plimer has praised mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, saying she “doesn’t get enough credit” in Australia. Mr Plimer told Sky News Australia that Ms Rinehart is “the greatest Australian woman” the country has ever produced. “She did it herself, she didn’t inherit anything,” she said. “She’s built a huge private company, the biggest private company in Australia. “She should be honoured for employing so many people and for paying such a huge amount of tax.”

This is an edited extract of Gina Rinehart’s speech to The Australian Financial Review Business Person of the Year awards on December 14. We need policy that helps Australians. We need policies that make investment in our country worth doing. If we have any interest in maintaining our standards of living, we should be doing what other countries are doing. Rolling out the red carpet for investment. Expensive trade trips, even the expense of trade personnel overseas, well – without cutting the cost and delay, or worse, of government red tape, there’s no reason for those.

It’s a pre-Christmas surprise that will add even more stress to families struggling to balance the household budget The independent Australian Energy Market Operator says WA is likely to face a gas shortage next year, pushing prices higher amid an already crushing cost-of-living crisis . And the budget pain won’t only be felt through the household gas bill. The gas shortage will also affect manufacturers and businesses. That means it could cause the cost of just about everything to rise.

The Cook Government’s announcement this week on environmental approval reforms reflects the power of economic leadership. Faced with a growing body of evidence that our environmental approvals regime is harming our capacity to grow and diversify our economy, it took incisive steps to mitigate any potential damage and strengthen WA’s reputation as a place to invest. It’s now time for Canberra to follow suit.

Environmental approvals for significant projects will be dramatically sped up through a raft of major changes as Premier Roger Cook declares “our system isn’t working” and green tape is strangling WA’s aspirations to become a “clean energy powerhouse”. Proposed legislative amendments will hand the Environment Minister new powers to force faster assessments for proposals of “State significance” while external consultants will be employed to help clear existing backlogs. The Environmental Protection Authority will be required to comply with a Statement of Intent that takes into account the State Government’s “priorities and policies” and the regulator’s board will be bolstered to include members with industry experience.

Australia will likely need gas for electricity, industry and exports for decades to come and politicians have been warned not to shut down technology options too early, new modelling reveals.“Preparing for only one pathway leaves Australia extremely vulnerable to developments that are outside Australia’s control,” the report says. “Should any energy pathway or technology face challenges in its deployment, it will be critical to have alternative energy sources in the mix to maintain energy security and affordability and to keep emissions reductions efforts on track.”

Mining giant BHP says Labor’s new industrial relations laws could cost it up to up to $1.3bn each year and make Australia “more expensive and less competitive.” BHP joins other companies in attacking the changes, specifically the move to toughen labour hire laws to ensure contractors are paid the same as regular employees.

Overhauling WA’s onerous payroll tax regime would pump $1.35 billion into the State’s economy and create nearly 4000 jobs, laying the platform for a new wave of investment while preventing fast-expanding companies from relocating to the east coast. That is according to independent research commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, which will be used to reignite calls for the “tax on jobs” to be slashed in the next State Budget. Under the model favoured by the chamber, WA’s payroll tax threshold would be raised from its current $1 million to $1.3m, carving out more smaller businesses completely.

“When more than 20 countries, including some of our closest allies, signed a pledge today at COP28 in Dubai calling for a tripling of zero-emissions nuclear energy, our government was nowhere to be seen,” the Opposition Leader said. “US Climate Envoy John Kerry said ‘ … you can’t get to net zero in 2050 without some nuclear’. If Australia is serious about reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 while keeping the lights on and getting prices down, we can’t afford to take any option off the table.”