As the Federal Government?s mining tax legislation was introduced to parliament last week, it was buoyed by internal Labor Party polling that indicated an overwhelming majority of Australians believe they haven?t profited from the strong mining sector.
Carried out by UMR Research, the poll found that only 21 per cent of voters believed all Australians benefited from the boom.
According to Australian Mining, even the states most directly impacted by resources mining, 73 per cent of Queenslanders and 67 per cent of Western Australians believed most people did not benefit.
A full 64 per cent of Labor voters agreed with the proposition, as did 72 per cent of Greens voters. Most surprisingly, 67 per cent of Coalition voters believed average Australians don?t benefit from the mining industry ? a higher percentage of respondents than Labor voters.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
This poll follows a report released by the Australia Institute in September ? Mining the Truth: The Rhetoric and Reality of the Commodities Boom – which highlighted the negative consequences of the mining boom on other sectors of the Australian economy.
That report implied that by combining the corporate tax it pays on profits with the royalties paid for the raw materials extracted, the mining industry inflates figures that suggest it is more heavily taxed than other industries.
Coupled with recent discussions at last month?s IQA annual conference about how quarries need to emphasise their differences from mining and positively engage with communities, the UMR poll reinforces the importance of staying aware of public sentiment.
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