Stalwart leader backs mining

By Ross Louthean One of Australia’s longest serving Prime Ministers has backed mining as stalwart of the economy. John Howard asked why you would see reliance on a strong strong mining sector as a liability when it was a competitive advantage. Mr Howard made the key note address at this year's Diggers and Dealers event underway in Kagoorlie. John Howard, who turned 80 this month, covered the length and breadth of issues including politics, economics and, as a cricket tragic, pointed to Steve Smith’s second century in The Ashes on Sunday night. Many Australians failed to realise how important ongoing mining was to preventing the country suffering the full impact of the global financial crisis, Mr Howard said. A key point made in answers in all three interviews was that while there was a big anti climate change movement, the really important issue was solving poverty around the world. Linked to this was the Adani coal project in Queensland, which will generate thousands of jobs and also provide a cheap power to India, he said. Mr Howard said that Labor polled disastrously in Queensland in part due to north and central Queenslanders being angered by the convoy led by former Greens Leader Bob Brown of predominantly anti-Adani supporters from Melbourne and Sydney. “Don’t be sensitive to climate change zealots,” he said. John Howard said there are still layers of regulation that haunt the Australian mining industry and this needs to be reduced to allow the country to thrive. Relationships with the United States and China were vital for Australia and they're needed to be a line trod that maintains relationships with both countries. Howard pointed out there were now about 1.2 million people of Chinese heritage now living in Australia. He said he also understood why people in Britain supported Brexit. He asked delegates would they support Australia having to give away national sovereignty to an Europe equivalent, such as New Zealand and Papua New Guinea on a series of issues including immigration.

Stalwart leader backs mining

Industry Queensland

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