Hmmm...a lot of redneck-type replies up there^^

Take a step back and consider what the mining boom has done for WA and Aust (and remeber that QLD also has a very lucrative mining industry):

In WA - wealth for those who work on the mines and related service industries (but not for those who don't), highest house prices in Aust (we used to be the lowest) making housing out of the reach of a (majority) of workers not involved in resources. Highest living costs (food, entertainment, fuel etc) in Aust. Increased State Government charges across the board, hospitals starved of funds, so too for education, law & order...etc. Huge cutbacks on infrastructure spending but pressure on infrastructure due to the large influx of workers from interstate and O/S.

Remember also that the minerals belong to all Australians, not just to West Australians and certainly not to European, US and South African based mining companies. These companies are making HUGE profits from OUR resources...so why shouldn't they pay more of a tax share (like the rest of us do with income tax)? Why shouldn't all Australians benefit more from OUR resources. Why should the boardrooms in London and New York be adorned with our profits?

So what's the fear? Rio Tinto, BHP-B, FMG, Woodside won't invest in WA and will go elsewhere eg Asia...I don't think so! Tell me where all the secret iron ore is buried in Asia? Where is the gas hiding?

Bottom line is that resource miners are after the biggest profit they can make and any threat to this will be met with derision.....but at the end of the day, they will stay here, they will continue to invest and they will continue to make big profits even with the extra resources tax.

Our aim as Australians surely is to make the standard of living better for the majority and not just the minority. WA is part of Australia and is not an independent country...that's fact...our challenge in WA is to get a fair share of profits, GST etc so we can benefit from things like additional funding for health and education etc....so Barnett and Co need to get out and make this happen rather than being narrow minded and paying for it by putting up our state taxes...

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