As Australian mining investment falls on the back of government incompetence, Canada is picking up the projects, including a likely $10 billion bet by BHP Billiton in that country's potash reserves.
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Comments PolicyI see an underlying strategy by BHP rebalance its portfolio in the face of weaker metal prices (BHP seizes on a Canadian chance, December 3).
Adding to its energy resources with shale gas in the US, and entering the agriculture market through potash in Canada. I understand that unexploited Australian resources potash and gas are not of sufficient scale.
Bob lets his politics influence his judgement. I imagine there will be a time when the Canadians want a share of profits from multinational miners. Historically, much of Canada's resources were developed by Canadian companies.
Miners always overinvest in a boom. BHP's decision to delay Olympic Dam copper investment is good business sense for all sorts of reasons.
I'm not fussed as I don't work in mining or a related business. I think it'll be fun to watch mining collapse under Labor (BHP seizes on a Canadian chance, December 3). It'll be especially amusing when the mining tax doesn't collect a cent in the next three quarters and Swan has to explain where his surplus went. I wonder if the debt ceiling has to be raised again. Perhaps the Coalition should block it.
Unfortunately the Federal Government failed to realise that the big miners were fully aware of the risk of a super profits tax and had played it off a break, using media campaigns and legal challenges to delay the tax's onset until the super profits had largely been harvested (BHP seizes on a Canadian chance, December 3).
That's one reason the subsequent MRRT cupboard is empty. Better advisers would have warned Canberra that slow reactions had cost it any chance of a real bite at the super profits cherry, and that it would be better off focusing on doing better next time -- and that meant supporting a longer-term approach to enabling mining development.
Of course, another argument is that the best longer-term outcome for the nation is reduced consumption of high-quality resources for $1 a tonne or less that many of the miners now pay, saving them for 20-30 years down the track.
This was so predictable and many companies warned the government about it. Now it is happenning. The government should be told that the impact is some way off, but the catastrophic drop in investment is now visible on the horizon. The government needs to believe it and adjust their forward planning accordingly. But if their lose the election, they will not care that they have ruined the economy. La-de-da. (BHP seizes on a Canadian chance, December 3).
Well said Robert, I have written many comments recently, regarding why Canada has handled the world trade downturn much better than Australia (BHP seizes on a Canadian chance, December 3).
The Canadian central bank has 1 per cent interest rates, the Canadian dollar is bellow parity. The Canadians have a gas/energy policy designed to increase internal growth, Australia has the greens, scaring the crap out of everyone.
The Canadian government understands growth. The Australian government think that price efficiency can be achieved with meters.