Mining firms worked to kill off climate action in Australia, says ex-PM
www.theguardian.com
Kevin Rudd says industry still has huge influence in a country beset by climate policy torpor

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.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/10/mining-firms-worked-kill-off-climate-action-australia-ex-pm-kevin-rudd

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  • Zagorath@aussie.zoneEnglish
    3·
    3 days ago

    White ant is another name for termites. Just as termites literally destroy the structure of a house from the inside, a person “white-anting” is acting from within to take an institution down. In the case of Rudd, the goal wasn’t to destroy the Labor party per se, but to take down the Gillard government by, for example, leaking details of what were supposed to be closed internal discussions to the press. And it had the effect of helping Labor lose the following election, giving Australia 9 more years of conservative rule.