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Hancock Agriculture chairwoman Gina Rinehart said the summit was an opportunity for governments to better understand those living and working outside our cities. “Eighty-five per cent of Australians live in large urban locations, but we should not forget the engine room of our country, that being outside the cities in mining and agriculture and all of those who work in our bush,” she said. “They in turn make possible jobs for the many businesses the primary industries support; the truckies, the shops, even accountants, legals, tax advisers and many more.”

“Canberra Hill is not a wealth creator or nation builder, but a user and waster of taxpayer funds, an inefficient disperser of taxpayers’ funds, and its record shows a place which fails to understand economic realities,” she said. “This lack of economic realities has resulted in policies which restrict our pensioners, students and even veterans from working as much as they may choose, while there is a widespread worker shortage, a worker shortage crisis, affecting many businesses and supplies.” At a time of record revenue, thanks to mining, one would expect government services to be provided abundantly and efficiently. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case. Notwithstanding the money flowing into state government coffers, the standard of the provision of services, which is the key role of state governments, has never been so poor.

Share paid by richest 1pc jumps to 18.3pc. The share of tax paid by Australia’s highest earners is at its highest level in at least a decade, with new data showing the top 1 per cent contributed nearly a fifth of personal income tax in 2020-21. Figures released by the Australian Taxation Office yesterday showed the average individual tax bill for the top 1 per cent of earners was $317,090 in the period, up by more than $47,000 from a year earlier, according to analysis by The Australian Financial Review.

You could be forgiven for not knowing anything about the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act about to come into effect on July 1. It seems many didn’t. But before you dismiss it as something that doesn’t affect you, think again. It’s not just farmers, miners or industry groups affected by these changes. Many metropolitan landowners and hobby farmers will be liable under the same set of rules. It will be up to the landowner to find out if their land is a culturally significant site and apply for a permit. If they don’t, they could be subject to significant penalties.

Manufacturers have warned an ongoing gas crunch could force factories to the brink, as big users on the east coast scramble to find new supplies to power their industrial operations. The federal government late last year legislated a cap on uncontracted gas at $12 a gigajoule, and said it would establish a mandatory code of conduct to force gas to be sold at “a reasonable price”. The intervention has caused a spate of proposed new gas developments to stall, and leading mining supplier Orica said Australia was not competitive with other jurisdictions. “Our gas pricing in this country is capped at $12. If I manufacture in Canada, I pay less than $C2 per million British thermal unit,” Orica chief executive Sanjeev Gandhi said. “So even when you consider imports and supply chain costs, if I bring the product into Australia, it is still cheaper than the high gas price that I have to absorb. So already today, I have this disparity.”

Recognised for her outstanding contribution to the state and national economy, Mrs Rinehart was also awarded the 2023 Business Award. A passionate philanthropist, Mrs Rinehart supports various medical, educational, sporting, health and community organisations, including the life-changing Hanrine Futures Scholarships, which ensures disadvantaged and vulnerable Indigenous children in the Pilbara receive an education and a guaranteed job.

Australia must stop demonising mining | Gina Rinehart | 2023.

16 May 2023.