The optics are not good when it comes to the former Australian Minister for Trade and Investment

According to former Australian Minister for Trade and Investment & former Liberal MP for Goldstein Andrew Robb he is now in the business of providing "boutique investment, trade and major projects counsel for companies and organisation's globally, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region" through his company Andrew Robb Pty Ltd which is contactable "C/- Ellerston Capital". 

The website goes on to state that; Mr Robb is currently a Board Member of the Kidman cattle enterprise and the Network Ten television station, Chair of Asialink and CNSDose, and strategic advisor to Beef Innovations Australia, as well as a range of national and international businesses.

On 13 July 2016 the Australian Financial Review added an investment bank to the list:

Former trade minister Andrew Robb has joined investment bank Moelis & Company, where he will focus on deals with China.

Robb had announced this appointment on the same day.

By 2 September 2016 Landbridge Group Co Ltd, a Chinese corporation based in Rizhao, China, had informed the world that Mr. Robb was now a senior economic consultant with the group effective two months earlier. 

Readers might recall that Landbridge acquired the 99-year lease for the Port of Darwin in 2015 when Robb was still Minister for Trade and Investment.

According to The Age on 6 June 2017:

The details of the consultancy have never been disclosed by Mr Ye or Mr Robb. Neither has the fact that Mr Robb is being used to spruik a Chinese Communist Party-backed trade park as part of his consultancy agreement.

Mr Ye frames much of his business activity, including the acquisition of the Port of Darwin lease, in terms of advancing Beijing's ambitious global trade and infrastructure project "One Belt, One Road".

The port's acquisition sparked a major controversy after then US president Barack Obama complained he hadn't been forewarned. The Defence Department and ASIO have vetted and cleared Landbridge's acquisition of the port. But the director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Peter Jennings, said the port deal might benefit Beijing's long-term strategic interests, and not necessarily those of Australia.

Mr Ye publicly announced on September 2 last year that Mr Robb had been appointed as a "high-level economic consultant". At the time, Mr Robb had already been working for Mr Ye for eight weeks, and had earned $146,000, including GST but minus expenses…..

In April 2016, less than three months before his consultancy agreement began, Mr Robb visited China with an Australian delegation in his capacity as Australia's trade envoy. The delegation was lobbied by Rizhao Communist Party deputy secretary Liu Xingtai to support the trade park as part of a "Two Countries, Two Parks" proposal.

"The proposal has been fully recognised and highly affirmed by the Shandong Province Party Committee, the Provincial Government and the Department of Commerce," the Chinese government statement said.

The statement also said deputy secretary Liu had met Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and NT Chief Minister Adam Giles on April 14, 2016, and "proposed the co-operative model of Two Countries, Two Parks".  

Mr Ye placed Mr Robb on his payroll 10 weeks later.

Now if memory serves me correctly on 11 February 2016 Mr. Robb announced that he would not recontest his seat and the Australian Parliament was dissolved on 9 May 2016 ahead of the federal election.

As he was on his feet in the House of Representatives on 4 May and was listed as a sitting member in the Hansard of 5 May when the Budget was delivered after which all federal politicians then returned to their electorates, one can be forgiven for assuming that he did not officially retire until 9 May 2016 when the parliament was dissolved.

Twenty-three days later on 1 July 2016 (the day before the 2016 federal election day) Andrew Robb was on the Landbridge payroll according to ABC TV Four Corners 5 May 2017 transcript:

From that date, he's be[ing] paid $73,000 a month, or $880,000 a year, plus expenses.

This of course is in addition to his parliamentary superannuation lumpsum and/or periodic payments based on Commonwealth contributions equivalent to est. 15.4% of salary/wages per the Parliamentary Superannuation Act 2004 (Robb turned 65 years of age in August 2016) and remuneration for aforementioned directorships and other consultancy positions.

On 1 July Mr. Robb would have reached the end of any period in which he was eligible to receive a percentage of his base parliamentary salary as a departing MP not standing for re-election.

Looking at this timeline I wouldn't be surprised if the formal contract with Landbridge was not signed even earlier than 1 July, that the ink was probably still drying on this document when Robb told parliament of his intention to resign and stood down as trade and investment minister on 18 February 2016.

So where did you say your news was coming from?

An interesting snippet from Australian Newspaper History Group, Newsletter, No 90, December 2016, pp.

90.1.3 China (1): Supplement to SMH and Age

On 23 September both the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age carried an eight-page supplement entitled China Watch, which contained China news and views.

The supplement clearly indicated that it had been prepared by the China Daily and that there had been no editorial involvement by the Sydney Morning Herald and Age.

This follows a precedent where in recent years the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age have regularly carried similar sponsored supplements containing news and views of Russia.

90.1.4 China (2): Australian media

Yan Xia, the editor of Vision China Times, a Chinese-language newspaper published in Australia, says a Beijing-based immigration agency was forced to pull an advertisement from his paper because it was regarded as an “anti-China” paper (Australian, 10 October 2016). The Ministry of State Security, the agency in charge of counter-intelligence and political security, had allegedly harassed the agent.

Yan Xia said, “Our lost client illustrates but one of the mounting pressures faced by independent Chinese media in Australia. Tensions have heightened over recent months, with Australia’s Chinese media under pressure to support President Xi Jinping and Beijing’s foreign policy. That pressure is part of China’s exercise in ‘soft power’. Broadly speaking, there are three types of Chinese-language media in Australia.

“The first consists of those that rely on the Chinese government and Chinese commercial ties for revenue. These outlets tend to echo and take their cues from state-run mouthpieces. The second group consists of media directed by religious groups aiming to expose China’s political, educational and socio-economic situation while promoting human rights and religious freedom. And the third is independent of political and religious influence. Its reporting is largely in line with the ideals of Western mainstream media and generally gives holistic views of Canberra’s policies and sentiments.

“Our outfit fits this last category. While independent media outlets are standard in the West, a one-party state cannot accept that media outlets “do not follow directives” and, by its reckoning, do damage to ‘national interests’. In China, national interests are synonyms for ‘the party’s interests’.

“In recent months it appears the Chinese government’s influence in Australia has become more open and, thus, more easily observed. For Chinese media platforms whose goal is to serve as the bridge between the Chinese community and the Australian mainstream, the challenge lies in reporting fairly and accurately on matters of conflict between the two countries. We choose to remain unyielding in our approach, reporting according to Western journalistic ideals. This has been tested during recent times, which have seen a deluge of articles examining issues that Beijing considers unpalatable.”

Australian Federal Election 2016: oh dear, Nationals MP for Page Kevin Hogan is at it again

In February this year Nationals MP for Page Kevin Hogan fronted the Grafton Chamber of Commerce and delivered a large pork pie regarding thresholds for foreign investment in Australian agricultural land and businesses.

He was at it again this month with a public assurance concerning foreign workers made to ABC News on 9 March which also picked up the daily double by repeating that misinformation about investment thresholds:

A National Party MP is hoping local jobs will not be lost as a result of a Chinese buy-out of north coast NSW macadamia farms.

Four properties covering 380 hectares at Dunoon near Lismore, and formerly run by US-based Hancock Farms, have been bought by a Chinese group known as "Discovery".

The member for Page Kevin Hogan said he was aware of rumours of a sale.

Mr Hogan said a Free Trade Agreement with China did not mean the door was now open to foreign workers.

"It's a well-known fact within the free trade agreements that we do with any country, not just China, because let's not just make this a China thing, that any company and there's been companies that have owned Australian assets for 200 years and with every free trade agreement the work has to be offered to Australians first," Mr Hogan said.

Kevin Hogan said any foreign investment greater than $15 million had to be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board, and he was waiting on information on whether the macadamia sale was vetted.

"We made an election commitment to lower it from the ridiculous amount of $ 250 million when it used to be triggered to look at a purchase if it was in the national interest, we have lowered that from 250 to 15 [million dollars] so if this entity has triggered over $15 million it would have absolutely gone before the Foreign Investment Review Board," Mr Hogan said. [my red bolding]

Now voters in the Page electorate are far from silly and many would have wondered what free trade agreement Mr. Hogan had been reading to boldly state that “with every free trade agreement the work has to be offered to Australians first”.

The Dept. of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s own copy of ARTICLE 10.4: GRANT OF TEMPORARY ENTRY of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement clearly states:

3. In respect of the specific commitments on temporary entry in this Chapter, unless otherwise specified in Annex 10-A, neither Party shall:

(a) impose or maintain any limitations on the total number of visas to be granted to natural persons of the other Party; or

(b) require labour market testing, economic needs testing or other procedures of similar effect as a condition for temporary entry.

So this free trade agreement allows an unlimited number of temporary work visas for Chinese nationals (and in some cases their spouses) in many employment categories and, there is no test to see if the employment positions in Chinese-owned businesses within this country that they are taking up – for a period up to 4 years - could be filled by suitably qualified Australian workers.

One has to wonder if Kevin Hogan reads beyond the regular ‘talking points’ distributed to MPs by his party.

Liberal MP Stuart Robert's resignation as Australian Minister for Human Services raises more questions than it answers

The following is a rough timeline covering the the not-so-illustrious political career of Stuart Rowland Robert, Liberal MP for Fadden (QLD) since 2007.

On 10 September 2010 Stuart Robert changed his Statement of Registrable Interests to reflect that he and his wife were no longer trustees for the Robert Family Trust and Robert Investments Family Trust, as well as ceasing to be directors and shareholders in Robert International Pty Ltd.

It is understood that new trustees are close family members of Robert.

For most of his parliamentary career to date Stuart Robert has not ventured overseas that often.

His first official overseas trip did not occur until 5 August 2009 as part of a parliamentary delegation to Timor Leste. His second was also as part of a parliamentary delegation – this time to the United Arab Emirates between 13-20 May 2011.

Robert’s third and fourth overseas trips covered six days in June and five days in October 2011. First as a representative of Australia during commemorative events in France and then on a study tour of South Africa. The two and a quarter page study report cost taxpayers $16,161.58.

Between 13 Feb to 17 Feb 2012 Stuart Robert was again overseas representing Australia in Singapore on behalf of Senator Michael Ronaldson. From 17 Oct to 21 Oct 2012 Robert was in Egypt for the 70th anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein, before travelling on to Uganda for seven days on another study tour. This second three-page study report cost $3,811.92.

In June 2013  then Shadow Minister for Defence, Science, Technology and Personnel  Stuart Robert hosted a small private dinner at Parliament House for a representative of a Chinese mining company, reportedly at the request of another guest, millionaire businessman Paul Marks. 

Besides Marks, guests at this dinner included Chinese billionaire Li Ruipeng, then Shadow Minister for Energy and Resources Ian Macfarlane and then Liberal National Party president Bruce McIver. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and then Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship & Shadow Minister for Productivity and Population Scott Morrison attended the dinner towards the end.

The 2013 dinner

All the Australian politicians at this dinner reportedly received gifts of designer watches worth est. $250,000 in total.

Marks is frequently described as a close personal friend of Robert.

On 31 January 2014 mining exploration company Nimrod Resources Limited donated $500,000 to the federal Liberal Party of Australia.

In mid-August 2014 Stuart Robert accompanied Paul Marks to China allegedly to lobby the Chinese Government on his behalf in relation to the business interests of Nimrod Resources.

Robert did not bill the taxpayer for his flight to China. However, his return journey was via Singapore for the Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial meeting and the Defence Ministers' Dialogue on 21 to 23 August. Therefore taxpayers funded the last leg of his journey home.

Nimrod Resources currently has three directors, Paul Marks (Executive Chairman), James Macaulay (Managing Director) and Robert Kingdon (Non-executive Director). Bruce McIver reportedly holds a 22 per cent shareholding in this company.

In early April 2014 Stuart Robert as Assistant Minister for Defence led a 7-day trade mission to Israel organized by the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce, of which Marks' brother Sam Miszkowski is understood to be a Queensland office bearer/member.

There were two other ministerial visits overseas in 2014 - one to Afghanistan and another to New Zealand & the United States.

On 30 June 2014 P. Marks Investment Pty Ltd  donated $431,631 to the federal Liberal Party.

Between April and June 2015 Paul Marks personally donated $340,000 to the federal Liberal Party.

To date the Marks family appear to have donated at least $1.47 million directly to the Liberal Party.

In late April to early May 2015 as Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert made ministerial visits to the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and the USA as part of a trade delegation.

By 2016 Chinese businessman Li Ruipeng is no longer a high-flying billionaire but is wanted by police in China for illegal fundraising and unpaid debts of est. $30 million and Robert may yet have to appear as a witness in a court case concerning the outcome of a Dubai land deal which went wrong.

On 12 February 2016 Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull released a press statement regarding Robert’s resignation as Minister for Human Services which said in part that: Mr Robert advised Dr Parkinson that at the time he travelled to Beijing in August 2014 he did not believe that he had any interest in or connection to Mr Paul Marks’ company, Nimrod Resources. In the course of assisting the investigation, Mr Robert advised Dr Parkinson that on checking his records he had become aware that shares in Metallum Holdings Pty Ltd, a company in which Mr Marks was also a shareholder, had been allocated to his trustee some time before the visit to Beijing. He told Dr Parkinson that this had been done without his knowledge. He further advised Dr Parkinson that he believed Metallum Holdings Pty Ltd had an interest in Nimrod Resources.

Metallum Holdings has an interesting history:

METALLUM HOLDINGS PTY LTD  ACN 160 273 763

Formerly Resource House Holdings Pty Ltd

Registered: 10 September 2012

Address: Office F1 Level 1, 47-59 Ashmore Road, Bundall QLD 4217

Sole Director: Paul Marks

Company Secretary: Robert Arthur Kingdon of Kingdon Lawyers

Number of Ordinary Shares: 10,000

Shareholders:

MIST CONSULTING PTY. LTD. – a Marks family company, trading as Friends of Israel (QLD), which donated $200,000 to the Liberal Party of Australia on 13 March 2014

[See: http://periodicdisclosures.aec.gov.au/Returns/55/SWIK4.pdf]

ROMELL PTY. LTD.

P. MARKS INVESTMENT PTY LTD

Louise Edwards

Previous Shareholders:

INTERIMCO PTY LIMITED – company believed to be owned or part-owned by former Liberal National Party president Bruce McIver

JJ HOLDINGS (VIC) PTY. LTD.

OZEAN INVESTMENTS PTY. LIMITED

Tom Kotsimbos.

All this leaves two questions hanging after Stuart Robert’s resignation – exactly how often did Robert assist Marks family business interests in the last nine years and, how many other Turnbull Government ministers have helped Paul Marks in a similar fashion?

UPDATE

Herald Sun, 10 April 2016:

DUMPED minister Stuart Robert took his official Defence-issued mobile phone on his controversial private trip to China, potentially exposing the device to a breach of national security.

Phone records obtained using Freedom of Information laws reveal the then-assistant defence minister had the device in Beijing while there to witness mate and Liberal donor Paul Marks sign a deal with the ­Chinese government.

The phone records show Mr Robert’s phone was switched on and connected to Chinese and Hong Kong networks eight times on August 15, 2014, and a further four times on August 16.

Liverpool Plains community getting the "Wrong Mine, Wrong Place" message out to China

https://youtu.be/5SUwTLIOjAE

The people of the Liverpool Plains in NSW Australia have a message for the Shenhua Group in China, who want to build a massive coal mine in the middle of their farmland.

The LPP community have spent $750,000 fighting this madness so far! There are more battles to come before we can save our water and precious Ag land – for more information on how you can add your support, visit: http://www.friendsoftheliverpoolplain... and help us win this fight.

Music by Luke Vassella
Shot/directed/edited by David Lowe and Eve Jeffery
Produced by Cloudcatcher Media

Help us make more cool stuff by chucking something in our tip jar! http://www.cloudcatchermedia.com/tip-...

Chinese Media: "Bishop calls for standing up to China, but what resources does she have to do so with?"

Australian FM’s China stance senseless

Source: Global Times Published: 2014-7-12 0:08:01

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop appalled Chinese people on Wednesday by saying that Australia will "stand up to China to defend peace, liberal values and the rule of law," and "China doesn't respect weakness."

It just added fuel to the outrage caused by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's earlier comments on Japanese submariners involved in the attack on Sydney Harbor in 1942, in which Abbott said he "admired the skill and the sense of honor" of the Japanese troops.

If Abbott's words were meant to flatter his visiting Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, Bishop's provocation appeared to have come out of nowhere.

Many Chinese people who read about this could not believe these words came from the Australian foreign minister. China is Australia's biggest trade partner and has not offended Australia in any way. Bishop's verbal provocation made her look more like one of the often pointless "angry youths" found in the Chinese cyber sphere than a diplomat.

The current Australian government has been widely considered as inexperienced, particularly in dealing with foreign relations. Still, the naivety of its foreign minister still surprised Chinese people.

Australia has been relying heavily on the Chinese market in exports. But it has been so conceited in selling its value system that it has become one of the loudest voices in attacking China's human rights record.

Australia's history is not short of records of human rights infringement on the aboriginal population. The country used to be a place roamed by rascals and outlaws from Europe. Perhaps it has to boast its values to cover up its actual lack of confidence in front of Western countries.

For many Chinese people, Australia is a good place for business, travel and higher education. That's about it. There is no point in China being overly upset by Bishop's words.

The new power structure in the Asia-Pacific region led by China and the US has become a challenge for some countries in this region. It is understandable that Australia as a country standing alone at the outskirts will try to show its loyalty to the Western world. It's no surprise that Australia and Japan will develop their ties, too.

However, the current Australian government's moves do not fit the Asia-Pacific stage.

Given Australia's growing economic reliance on China, the government's stance on China will fluctuate.

Bishop calls for standing up to China, but what resources does she have to do so with? The next day, Australian leaders will smile at China again, just as they do now to Japan. 

Posted in: Editorial

Is Metgasco being entirely honest with the Northern Rivers?

No-one can deny that Metgasco Limited is a listed public company incorporated in New South Wales, Australia or that it is considered a ‘junior’ coal seam gas mining business.

Also on the public record is the fact that it is the ultimate holding company for Clarence Moreton No.1 Pty Ltd and The Lions Way Pipeline Pty Ltd, as well as being a shareholder in Richmond Valley Power Pty Ltd.

Like many other mining corporations its directors and senior staff have worked for many players in the industry, including Exxon Mobil, and some like Steven Joseph Koroknay hold multiple directorships.

Even Metgasco’s largest shareholder CSG Nominees Pty Ltd is registered in this country – in Perth WA.

All in all it would appear that Metgasco is a true blue Australian company with its eye set firmly on the domestic market as it stated on 24 January this year:

we are seeking approvals to allow us to sell gas locally… by year’s end… to local businesses…

Then there is this.................

Metgasco’s largest shareholder is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liquified Natural Gas Limited (LNG).

LNG’s major shareholder as of 5 February 2013 is China Huanqiu Contracting And Engineering Corporation (HQC) which in turn is owned by the Chinese Government.

This is a flow chart of the relationship between Metgasco, LNG and China.

It would seem that any local gas sales are a minor consideration and that Metgasco sees its future in the export market once Fisherman’s Landing is completed.

Supplying LNG with between 90-260 tj of gas per day for a minimum of 15 years, which appears to be almost all of the total projected daily production at Casino under its current license.

A sustained supply volume which is problematic given that in 2013:

A Bell Potter energy analyst, Johan Hedstrom, said the quality of the coals in the Clarence Moreton Basin was "not as good as it is in the Surat Basin" in Queensland, where much of the CSG development is based. Mr Hedstrom said the coals were lower-permeability which made it difficult to get commercial rates of flow, as Metgasco had found.

"There's a question mark, really, on whether these coals are going to be productive in a commercial sense.  

 

So where is Metgasco heading with its business plan? Is it being honest with North Coast local governments about its prospects? Will it able to meet either the domestic or export aims?

The impediments are obvious; the low rate of proven commercial flow, its present inability to fund construction of the proposed Lions Way pipeline between Casino and the Ipswich gas hub, the fact that in 2012 its major investor had to declare a $6.5 million impairment to its own shareholders due to Metgasco’s sustained low share value, its 17th largest shareholder just publicly abandoning it on ethical investment grounds and, a closing share price on the Australian Stock Exchange yesterday of less than 10 cents.

Andrew Robb comes out in defence of his host, Huawei

One of those tsk, tsk moments....

National Times 28 March 2012:

The opposition finance spokesman, Andrew Robb, has stood by his comments blasting the government for blocking the Chinese telecommunications equipment company, Huawei, from tendering for work with the National Broadband Network, despite the government decision being based on advice from the security agency, ASIO.

Excerpt from Australian Opposition Finance Spokesperson Andrew Robb’s Declaration of Member’s Interests dated 23 January 2012:

UPDATE

The Australian 29 March 2012:

BRITAIN'S intelligence services were forced to erect a costly, resource-intensive auditing structure to ensure Huawei did not steal secrets after the Chinese telco was allowed to take part in a British broadband project.
As Foreign Minister Bob Carr moved to soothe tensions with Beijing, encouraging Huawei to expand its commercial operations in Australia in lieu of lucrative National Broadband Network contracts, the country's top signals intelligence expert, Des Ball, said yesterday there was "no doubt" Huawei partnered with China's espionage services.
Professor Ball, of Australian National University, said officers from Britain's Government Communications Headquarters, the country's top signals intelligence agency, had told him they had to check all the servers, routers, chips and hardware installed by Huawei after the company was allowed to take part in a large-scale broadband project in Britain. "And they still don't have any guarantee they picked everything up," he said....

Perhaps, Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop needs to check the software which came with that Media Pad Huawei Technologies (Aust) gave her as a gift earlier this year.

Buckingham speaks out in defence of NSW North Coast communities. Where is Cansdell?

Looking towards upper reaches of the Nymboida River

The Greens Jeremy Buckingham MLC speaks out for the Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour and Belligen local government areas, as well as the Clarence River catchment in this foreshadowed motion NSW Parliament Legislative Council.

Legislative Council Notice Paper No. 24

147. Mr Buckingham to move

1. That this House notes that:

(a) Anchor Resources Ltd have conducted scoping studies that indicate a resource of 17,500 tons of antimony have been found at both Wild Cattle Creek, near Nymboida and the Blicks River to the northwest of Dorrigo on the mid north coast of New South Wales,

(b) Anchor Resources Ltd has recently been subject to a majority takeover by the Chinese minerals company China Shandong Jinshunda Ltd which now owns over 90 per cent of the company,

(c) antimony is a mineral resource used for a range of “high-tech” products such as polymers, fire retardants and electronics,

(d) antimony and many of its compounds are toxic and the World Health Organisation has stated that oral consumption can result in "a strong irritating effect on the gastrointestinal mucosa and trigger sustained vomiting ... abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and cardiac toxicity",

(e) the majority of the municipal water supply for more than 100,000 residents in Coffs Harbour is provided by Shannon Creek Dam which is fed by pipes directly from the Nymboida River,

(f) this project is located within the headwaters of the Nymboida River, which is the highest rainfall catchment in New South Wales,

(g) the high rainfall of the catchment, which sometimes exceeds three metres, means that there is a significant risk that antimony mined in the area could be released and contaminate the water,

(h) a previous antimony ore processing plant at Urunga Lagoon has been described in the Bellingen Council 2009-10 State of the Environment Report as seriously contaminated and unable to be rehabilitated, and

(i) a 2002 report by the University of New England has shown that antimony from the Hillgrove and Bakers Creek mines which are located in the catchment of the Macleay River to the east of Armidale, have seriously contaminated over twenty kilometres of the headwaters of this river system and this has proved impossible to remediate.

2. That this House recognises that:

(a) the government has a responsibility to protect the community from current and future health risks associated with extractive industries, and

(b) proponent driven applications to determine the exploitation of our mineral resources are not in the best interests of the wider New South Wales community.

3. That this House calls on the Government to:

(a) prohibit mining activities within the critical catchments which supply water to our communities because of the unacceptable risks this poses to human and ecosystem health, the quality of our water supply and our state's agricultural capacity, and

(b) engage more extensively with the community in all assessments for extractive industries and take appropriate and precautionary actions, especially in regards to health risks.

(Notice given 23 June 2011—expires Notice Paper No. 43)

There's more to lose than a few dollars if antimony mining is again allowed in the Clarence River catchment

…………wealth is about more than money.
Quality of life and the environment feature pretty high on my agenda. And we need to be mindful of what happens after we sell off the farm. In the case of the proposed antimony and gold mines in the Wild Cattle Creek and Tyringham areas - the mining company would be Chinese, the approving authority the Bellingen Shire Council and most of the workers (and there is unlikely to be too many of them) would probably be based in Coffs.
But who cops the risk if a tailings dam fails and mercury or other heavy metals spew into the tributaries of the Nymboida River?
The Clarence Valley, of course.
And it appears unlikely to receive any of the benefits.
Mining has helped Australia ride out an international financial storm, but we need to be careful that we look at more than dollar signs when considering projects. There's more to lose than a few dollars.

[David Bancroft, Editor, The Daily Examiner 2 July 2011]

We want to buy your farms and mines, says China

 

我們要買你的牧場和礦場我們要買你的牧場和礦場我們要買你的牧場和礦場

"We want to buy your farms and mines"
The Daily Examiner 2 July 2011

Chinese Government 'world view' as expressed at the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China:

China is a development nation with a large population but limited resources. In the new century, strengthening China's cooperation with other developing nations in the fields of science and technology and economy has become unprecedentedly urgent and important. Such cooperation will obviously create ways and means for taking full advantage of the respective strength of different countries, alleviating poverty, accelerating economic development and making fortunes for their people. Such cooperation will also become a stimulus to the south-south cooperation and enhance our international competitiveness and risk resistance so as to allow more positive involvement in the economic globalization process, safeguarding our economic interests and security, and enhancing the visibility of developing nations in south-north dialogues.

The China Shandong Jinshunda Group Co Ltd through its Australian mining exploration arm, Anchor Resources Ltd, is now seeking ways to put this philosophy into action at Wild Cattle Creek in the Clarence River catchment.

* Wild Cattle Creek: China encourages mining in Clarence River catchment in order to conserve its own national resources? 25 June 2011
* Is Chris Hartcher trying to flannel the Clarence Valley? 30 June 2011
* No problems with any new Wild Cattle Creek tailing dams, according to the China Shandong Jinshunda Group 1 July 2011

Are Australians looking for new best friends?

Now I know Australian governments and politicians are unlikely to drift from supporting old established international relationships, including defence and trade partnerships, but one has to wonder if the rest of us are not begining to quietly review our options.

Is China on the way to becoming our new best friend?

Here is a snippet from the Essential Report of 15 November 2010. The survey was conducted online from 9^th to 14^th November 2010 and is based on 1,037 respondents.

Click on image to enlarge

· More than half the respondents think it is very important to have close relationships with the United States (56%) and New Zealand (54%) and just under half think it is very important to have a close relationship with China (45%) and United Kingdom (44%).

· A close relationship with the United States is considered very important by 65% of Liberal/National voters and 62% of Labor voters but only 37% of Greens voters. Greens voters consider relations with New Zealand (58%) and China (47%) more important.

· Since this question was asked in April, the overall rating of the importance of relations with other countries has dropped – especially for Japan (-10%) and Indonesia (-9%).

· 30% think that Australia’s relationship with China should get closer and 29% think our relationship with New Zealand should get closer.

· Labor voters are most likely to favour closer relationships with China (32%) and New Zealand (29%).

· Liberal/National voters are most likely to favour closer relationships with New Zealand (29%) and China (28%).

· Greens voters are most likely to favour closer relationships with China (38%), Indonesia (36%) and New Zealand (36%).

· Since this question was asked in April, the percentage wanting a closer relationship with Indonesia has dropped from 30% to 23%.