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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gina Rinehart in 2015
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Sydney
@SarahJaneTasker
Mrs Rinehart, speaking at a resources conference in New Delhi tonight, said she often suggested to the Australian government that it should “think and act” as India did under Mr Modi’s leadership.
“I keep reminding our governments that Australia needs to learn from the Indian leadership and now President Trump’s economic leadership also, by taking decisive steps to make doing business in high cost Australia easier, and rolling out the red carpet for investors,” she said.
Mrs Rinehart titled her speech “The emperor fiddles while Rome burns”, which she said had no relevance to India but “sadly” did for Australia because of the policies of successive federal governments. “We need mountains moved in Australia and swamps drained,” she said.
The billionaire, who has made her fortune through iron ore exports, told the Indian audience that she had told a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth in 2011 that “complacency and unsuitable” government policy not in touch with the need for Australia to be cost competitive had the capacity to undo the hard work and natural advantages that Australia enjoyed.
“Sadly, Australia was mesmerised by the then strong commodity prices and too little was done to enable Australia’s international cost competitiveness,” Mrs Rinehart said. “While investment in India grows with good government, it is unsurprising that investment in Australia is now down to record lows, not seen since the 1970s when Australia had one its most anti-business governments, the socialist Whitlam government.
“The Business Council of Australia in November last year concluded that more than $300 billion of projects are put at risk if Australia does not reform its approvals processes.”
Mrs Rinehart, who has amassed a large agricultural holding to become one of Australia’s top cattle owners, said few leaders were as focused on reducing government red tape and encouraging technology to spur economic growth and jobs as Mr Modi was.
“There is one thing in particular that your Prime Minister said that really caught the world’s attention — ‘no red tape, only red carpet, is my policy towards investors’,” she told the Indian audience.
She highlighted that to develop a coal project in Queensland’s Galilee Basin it took more than 5000 approvals, permits and licences.
Mrs Rinehart added that before Australia’s excessive red tape problem, the country had mining enterprises that were the envy of many countries.
“Investment was poured in to build roads, heavy-haul railways, towns and other infrastructure to enable mining, and huge ports to enable exports,” she said.
“Australia’s mineral resources industry has long been a large contributor to our Australian economy. Entrepreneurs have played a critical part in this, battling many odds, and not only government obstacles, but obstacles put up at times by competitors.”
The executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting Group also told the audience that she saw a bright future for the resources industry in India, saying that the reform agenda of Mr Modi would play a critical role given he had welcomed investment and businesses to India.
“I believe India has great potential ... unlike Australia, you are already heading on the right path,” Mrs Rinehart said.
“India can be the engine room of global growth if it continues on its current path ... watch out, Australia.”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...a/news-story/5b4b2991f896420aadb3815f2b2b13c4
