Custard>>There is no way they will leave their investments, they have sunk too much into them.

Yopu just don't get it, do you!

Of cause they won't abandon thier current projects, as they have already spent billions finding the deposits, then building plants to mine them. It's the future projects that are at risk.

>>I don't see why I am being forced to subsidise them, by selling my children's inheritance for a pittance

Yes, would have been nice to tell them this before they spent billions, hey!

BTW, our minerals are fetching record prices, hardley what one would consider as 'given away'.

Pelican>>Why is it always the working man who has to pay more than their share of the tax burden while companies continue to avoid tax wherever possible.
Clive Palmer paid $70million in personal tax last year and, rather than thanking him, you lot bag him. Why?

Thinker 2>>Treasury predicts return to surplus budgets in 3 years

So what happens if the mining tax does not get passed, then what?

The fact remain that if anyone wants a share in anything they must also share in the risk, much in the way that shareholders do.

Buy shares and you can share the profits, if there are any.

Government involvement in mining does not seem to have a great record, the Chillagoe Mungana situation in about the thirties is a good example. The multilateral agreement on tin prices, which collapsed in the late 80's along with the Australian tin mining industry (just starting to come back now)is another. All this talk of "our childrens mineral inheritence", "the good of all the Australian people", and "belonging to all Australians" are just fancy ways of saying consolidated revenue. Why does this potential revenue source need such emotive description? becasue we are being sold a pup.

Remember when the GST was going to simplify the tax system? wasnt 10% consumption tax the thing that would save us all...? it never happened. They banged on about the price of a cooked chicken and a loaf of bread, and had these few petty items exempted. Not so petrol, currently about 58% tax, smokes even more, gambling 30%, and income tax which was going to be 25% flat rate is currently 30-75% depending on who you are.

The miners are rightly brassed off about it, but I wish they could see that the government will compromise down to 25% with the miners to get it through, and then ramp it right back up.

*There is absolutely no doubt about character assassination of the PM,*

Your maternal concerns for Kevie are all very sweet thinker 2, but
I can assure you that all politicians are regularly lampooned by the
press and its a good thing. For too many of them get carried away
with their own self importance. It brings them back to planet earth,
at least just a little bit.

*and it wasn't Costello Yabby*

Err it was. Although of course Hawke and Keating do deserve the
credit for getting the whole thing going, realising that Australia
had to join the real world, for the merino sheep had collapsed.
Keating was economically literate, unlike Mr Swan and Mr Rudd.

*Costello sold the farm to resolve debt*

When Costello took over, we were mortaged to the roof. He left us
debt free. Now Mr Goose is going to repay the debts in three years,
that he created in his first three years. Wow. Pink batt debacles,
cash splashes, shoddy school halls, they all need to be repaid.

*And your wrong I'm not a Rudd lover at all.*

Ok, so you just need to bemother him and protect him from all
those naughty journalists, giving him a hard time. The poor man.

Yabby,
When Costello took over we actually weren't "mortgaged to the roof".

Despite the political hysteria, as a percentage of GDP our debt was quite manageable.

Now, with all our major assets flogged off to foreign owners, more of our money - as a percentage of GDP - is leaving the country as dividends than it was before so in real terms he left us worse off in many ways.

A great deal of his surplus was intangible stuff like HECS debts which may or may not ever be repaid.

It was our personal debt that was too high but that grew enormously during Costello's watch and his tendency was to use the boom revenue to buy votes instead of building needed infrastructure.

You don't generate too many jobs with "sandwich-and-a-milkshake" tax cuts.

Despite Rudd's flaws you could do a lot worse with Abbott.

Yabby
Re Venezuela: the trouble is you take one comment about Venezuela and suddenly decide I am the marketing agent for that country and take it as one who believes it holds no flaws. I am sure if you looked hard enough you would find something positive to comment about Venezuela without it meaning you hold it up as the paragon of nations.

Rudd is certainly an imperfect being but I hold more hope in the ALP (without Rudd as leader hopefully) in my preference vote than I do with a Coalition government.

I suspect with all the hysteria over the mining tax there will be concessions - Rudd is good at the back down position so you and those who think the mining sector is doomed for paying more tax on massive profits can sleep soundly in your beds.

:)

Pelican, one gold star for you, for so cleverly trying to slither
out of the Venezuela comment :) At the time however, the context
was clear, so were the implications. You are pretty bright, so
I hope that one day you will use that brainpower to gain an
understanding about how business operates. Its not the evil
goblin that many think it is. The Business Specatator website
is a great place to do just that. But its up to you.

I certainly don't have sleepless nights about the mining tax, its
just a shame for Australia's future that is all. The law of
unintended consequences will apply here. BHP are already pushing
ahead on their 3 billion tonne Canadian potash deposit, which for
me as a farmer is great news! That will suck up their future
investment capital for a few years, as its huge. South Australia
will just have to miss out, tough titties to them.

*as a percentage of GDP our debt was quite manageable*

Rache, that is exactly what Britain, the USA, Spain, Greece
and others said. Along came a crisis and took them way over the
hedge. Planning ahead for a rainy day is sound policy, Costello
got it right. That is why we came through so well. If Swan
had now been lumbered with huge interest payment, his budgets
would not look so pretty. In Britain now, they are paying as
much interest, as they spend on running their schools.

*with all our major assets flogged off to foreign owners*

Not so, alot of our major assets were flogged off to Australian
owners. Share ownership increased quite a bit under Costello. The
Australian problem is that too many prefer playing the pokies,
rather then save something for a rainy day. If more would,
more of our assets would be Australian owned, we would not have
a current account problem as we have.

Costello instilled confidence in the business community to invest
in Australia, so they did, jobs were the result. Costello bears
no responsibility for people living it up and borrowing.