Mining chief warns on ETS, IR and jobs
Mitch Hooke
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Mitchell “Mitch” Hooke said there were no prizes for “hairy-chested leadership” on emissions trading and the Government’s policies need to be better aligned to the rest of the world and to the capabilities of technology.
If the Government ignores this, the ETS cost will flow through as a tax on the bottom line and will mean a loss of jobs, he told ABC Melbourne radio on Friday.
“You cannot be in the green if you’re not in the black,” he said. “And if the black is starting to look red then there will be a loss and it will go to jobs. It’s as simple as that.”
Mr Hooke criticised the Rudd Government’s new workplace relations arrangements and said, while there was a need for a safety net, the third-party entry provisions could lead to a loss of productivity.
He also discussed the implications of the Chinese economic contraction and said it could mean a loss of 9000 jobs in the mining industry.
Listen to Mitch Hooke’s interview with ABC’s Beverley O’Connor.
[...] Read the rest here [...]