2019 Speech by Mrs Gina Rinehart

Patron and Founder National Mining & Related Industries Day
Executive Chairman of the Hancock Prospecting Group and Roy Hill
National Mining and Related Industries Day

Friday, 22 November 2019, Perth

Welcome Minister Canavan, distinguished guests, friends, mining colleagues and your families.

Happy National Mining and Related Industries Day!

It’s wonderful to celebrate with you the seventh annual National Mining and Related Industries Day – an industry that is an essential part of Australian life.

And wow – I haven’t spoken to so many thousands of Australians since I was on the back of that flat bed truck yelling out ‘axe the tax!’ – lost my voice over that one! Great to see you all here.

Our mining sector has delivered for the whole of Australia over many decades, opening up remote and rugged areas that wouldn’t be productive otherwise – providing employment, opportunities and revenue in Australia’s north.

The importance of mining to the Australian economy should not be underestimated.

Last year, Australia’s then Governor General invited us to his Canberra residence to celebrate our National Day. His Excellency General, the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd), one of the finest Australians our country has ever produced.

Superbly said in his own fine words. Please join me in applause.

Please see more of the then Governor General’s speech on our National Mining and Related Industries Day website.

Many of you would have heard me say before, albeit less eloquently – if high cost Australia wants to remain internationally competitive and encourage investment to grow its exports, which exports bring massive revenue into Australia, and future jobs for our growing population – we need our Government to cut its onerous, investment deterring burdens of government tape and taxes.

Let’s help our Government to focus on and progress significant tax and tape cutting.

Our Prime Minister gave a positive address just recently in Queensland.

Again, more of the Prime Minister’s address can be found on our National Day website.

Those who know me, know I’ve been actively waiting a long time to hear words like this from one of our Prime Ministers!

Let’s encourage the West Australian Government’s ‘Streamline WA’ initiative to emulate this Commonwealth drive by reducing duplication and regulation at a State level.

At its very core, mining is nation building.

Mining in Australia is an industry we can be proud of, and proud of our contribution to it. And it in turn, it is the foundation of the many related industries which rely on our industry.

Thank you to each and every one of those in the mining industry. Please join me in an exceptionally huge applause.

Thank you to each of you for the massive contribution you help to make to our State.

And thank you too for the massive contribution you make to our country. Mining contributes more to our nation than any other industry. Please join me again in massive enthusiastic applause.

Indeed, thank you for the essential contribution you make to civilisation. Everywhere you look, from the homes or offices you’ve left to come here, to the hospitals you may have family or friends in, to the vehicles you arrived in tonight, to your mobile phones, to the band’s instruments we’ll be enjoying tonight – and I could list things for hours – there’s very little that doesn’t contain minerals, or is fabricated by steel equipment, made from minerals and coking coal. Indeed, technological advances in our industry, spread to others.

Let’s hear it for our essential mining industry!

It now gives me great pleasure to show you a brief film that we at Hancock and Roy and with the help of Atlas too, have put together especially for National Mining and Related Industries Day.

It’s had three writers and co producers, thank you Julian and Tim – you’ve been fantastic, and a great production team – we all hope you love this film too. Please bring along your singing voices and sing with gusto for at least the last chorus.