One thing that does continue to irk me re certain idealogues is the constant harping about Australian work ethics. Not 2 or more weeks ago, we were being touted, (not for the first time) as amongst the hardest workers in the world. Well you can't have it both ways people we are or we aren't. As for comments about our drinking etc, well, perhaps the tea-totallers, need to get a grip. No doubt some Australians are big drinkers, but not all of us.
Gina Rinehart on YouTube: Australia Too Expensive for Exporters
By Vittorio Hernandez | September 5, 2012 10:09 AM EST
International Business Times
Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest person, refuses to be muzzled even if her controversial comments generate debate in the country. After her hit column in a mining industry magazine which came out last week, Ms Rinehart used on Wednesday popular video sharing site YouTube to air her thoughts once more on national issues.
Gina Rinehart, the world's richest woman, has attacked some Australian workers for being jealous toward the rich, spending too much time down the pub, and suggested lowering the minimum wage of 606.40 Australian dollars ($626 U.S.) per week. Some people on Newstart would be dying to get that much money, before they end up homeless and in the gutter. Good to see though a more realistic assessment of what most people earn, even thought they call it the minimum wage I doubt that it is far below the modal wage, I note it is not that which is touted as the average Australian wage.
Also the world's richest woman, Ms Rinehart said that Australia is too expensive and uncompetitive for exporters mainly due to the carbon tax and minerals resource rent tax which she has consistently opposed. That may well be, but even if the carbon tax is a sham, we do deserve a fair share of profits from the use of our non-renewable resources.
"Now the evidence is unarguable - that Australia is indeed becoming too expensive and too uncompetitive to do export-orientated business," she said at the video posted on the Sydney Mining Club Web site.
"Our federal and state governments must know that now, more than ever, we must lift our international competitiveness just to stay as well off as we are. And with state and federal debts we must get realistic - not just promote class warfare," she added.
"What was too readily argued as the self-interest complaints of a greedy few is now becoming the accepted truth, and more ominously, is showing up in incontrovertible data," Ms Rinehart pointed out.
The mining tycoon's previous suggestions for a cut in the weekly minimum wage rate of $606.40 per week and for Australians to smoke and drink less and work more generated criticisms across Australia. Critics pointed out that she became rich not so much for hard work but because she inherited wealth from her father. This shows just how out of touch she is with the average Australian. Like many politicians, how you going Bill Shorten, still having trouble on $330,000 a year?
Treasurer Wayne Swan, who was one of those who reacted to Ms Rinehart's magazine column, again spoke against the billionaire's latest rant delivered at the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies conference in Perth.
"The only Australian not getting sick and tired of this almost-daily pearl-rattling from Gina Rinehart is her loyal servant Tony Abbott. Not only has Gina Rinehart told her paymaster Tony Abbott he should consider slashing the minimum wage, now she says a competitive way to lower labour costs is by utilising illegal labour," The Australian Financial Review quoted the treasurer's spokesman. Wouldn't it be nice if people in high positions of responsibility would stop talking politically biased crap.
West Australian Mines Minister Norman Moore and Fortescue Metals Group Chairman Andrew Forrest, who are against the mining tax, backed Ms Rinehart's latest statement. Mr Moore said the billionaire should be credited, not criticised for her investment in mining projects. No one is knocking her investments, just her lack of COMMON sense.
A letter writer to Courier Mail also wrote that there are some grains on truth in Ms Rinehart's column. While Dr Paul Williams, senior lecturer at Griffith University's School of Humanities, disagreed with her suggestion to cut the minimum wage, he sided with her other suggestion for Aussies to drink and smoke less but work harder. Hmmm... perhaps my 60 and 48 hour weeks are not enough. I don't doubt many people deserve the OFF time where they can partake of the luxury of having a drink and a smoke (I don't).
He pointed out that the average alcohol consumption of 10 litres per Australian makes Aussies among the world's top guzzlers in the same ranking as Russian drinkers and ahead of Americans, Japanese and Swedish drinkers. All I can say is there must be a lot of people making up for those non-drinkers, because most people I know don't drink and they all work. I note climate may have an effect on the figures. 10 litres per ?
With recent changes in work-life balance, full-time employees worked just a little more than 39 hours a week and increased their weekly leisure time to 78 hours or a boost by 46 per cent. A little bit of maths with travel times and lunch breaks etc, etc, etc,might change those figures a bit. Travelling to and from work is not leisure time.
"For far too long, Australians fearful of the tall poppy have reveled in an inverse snobbery. It's therefore right that Rinehart should also call for an end to the phoney class war," Mr Williams wrote. eh... it's not tall poppy syndrome when people make stupid statements like comparing Australians to Africans who are willing to work for $2 a day... meaning? compared to? what's the cost of living? human rights? etc, etc, etc.
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