Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Australian mining industry has launched a new publicity campaign to combat the anti-mining sentiment broadcast by green activists.
Minerals Council of Australia CEO Brendan Pearson said the Making the Future campaign will explain the current and future contribution of the mining sector to jobs, living standards and growth in the Australian economy.
He added that the campaign had two broad purposes, the first of which was to respond to the anti-business sentiment that had emerged in recent years.
“This is both a national and global phenomenon and it is important that all businesses – small, medium and large – explain the contribution they make in providing jobs, raising living standards and future opportunities for young Australians,” Pearson said.
“Second, the slowdown in commodity prices after the investment boom has been wrongly interpreted as a signal that the mining industry is less important to Australia’s future than before. This view is mistaken.”
He noted that the mining industry was now three times larger than it had been a decade ago, and that employment in the sector was also nearly three times higher.
In the 2016/17 financial year alone, mining exports are expected to be A$40-billion higher than forecast, and just the one-year increase is equivalent to annual receipts from inbound tourism.
“That means more jobs, more revenues for state and federal governments and a stronger Australian economy,” Pearson said.
“The campaign will explain that the mining industry will remain a critical part of the Australian economy and living standards for decades, that hundreds of thousands of jobs will continue to be supported, that its products are indispensable to meet the resource and energy needs in Asia, that the industry is a major contributor to and driver of innovation in the Australian economy, and that its output is essential to the new materials and transformation of energy technologies.”
“It is our responsibility to explain why the mining sector’s substantial contribution to the national economy will continue and grow for decades to come. Over the last decade, the mining sector contributed 14% of Australia’s economic growth. Over coming decades, the mining sector will remain a central driver of growth. And the benefits of that growth will be enjoyed by all Australians.”
New South Wales Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee added that the mining industry made a significant contribution to the state's economy.
“It is our biggest export earner and employs thousands of people, the majority in rural and regional areas. The importance of mining to the state economy cannot be overstated, with royalties paid by the industry forecast to be over A$1.36-billion this financial year. These royalties go towards spending on essential services and infrastructure like hospitals and roads.”
The campaign will involve television, cinema, print and online advertising. The first stage of the campaign is expected to run until June.
It will expound mining’s contribution through the personal stories of Australians who work in the sector or whose businesses supply goods and services to the sector and will run indefinitely, with a review scheduled for later this year.