Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd says three of the world’s biggest mining corporations have run sophisticated operations to kill off climate action in Australia and continue to wield day-to-day influence over government
They led an intense campaign against the 40% tax on mining profits proposed by Rudd in 2010.
“Glencore, Rio [Tinto] and BHP ran sophisticated political operations against my government, both on climate change and the mining tax” Kevin Rudd told the Guardian.
“They worked hard … to get rid of the resource super profit tax, against the interests of other mining companies and the national economy as a whole. They worked hard … in 2013 against the carbon price. They succeeded in both enterprises.”
Rudd attributes the day-to-day influence of the sector to two mechanisms. The first is what he describes as the vast lobbying network it uses to pressure political parties. The second is a close relationship with Rupert Murdoch’s media, which owns most of the country’s print media.
“When did you last see the Murdoch media critical of any of these corporations?” Rudd said. “Rarely. If ever.”
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👉 Billionaire Rupert Murdoch owns Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Sky News, and most Australian newspapers.
Oh we are all painfully aware of the influence the mining and media companies have on our politics. They’ve been untouchables for yonks now.
Money cant protect them from real power I know that much.