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2010-05-09

Can Australia regulate global mining boom?

On today's ABC Insiders program, George Me. said the government's super profit resource tax is trying to moderate and slow down mining boom.

The question is that whether the idea or assumption that the Australian government can moderate mining boom is reasonable and realistic or not.

The fact is that Australia is only one part of the global mining industry to supply/export minerals and petroleum, and that global mining boom is largely driven by demand factor, though Australia has a very large mining industry and is well located geographically close to the boom areas of the world economy, namely Asia.

But mineral and petroleum deposits are not monopoly located in Australia, no matter how much Australia has.

In that global environment of global mining boom as a result of demand driven by industrialisation and urbanisation in Asia especially China, one has to ask the above question.

The very idea that through tax the Australian mining industry more heavily can regulate global mining boom is likely to be naive and lack of rationality.

I hope people don't confuse a legitimate tax reform of mining royalty with unrealistic goal of regulating global economy in which Australia does not have much control. International trade switch means that Australia will bear a significant loss if it attempts to do a silly thing as that.

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