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Pro-mining policies which make the most of mining’s existing strengths can bring the budget back into balance and reduce the nation’s debt while boosting economic growth and buttressing living standards

Australia’s energy policy is a national suicide plan: we have oil and gas but can’t use them, refineries are closed, and renewables alone cannot keep the lights on.

Fuel pumps may cut out

Gina Rinehart says the government should cut or remove the fuel excise, arguing high petrol and diesel taxes are adding to inflation and putting extra pressure on households, farmers, small businesses and regional Australians.

Australia’s fuel crisis will endure long after the end of the Iran war, the head of the International Energy Agency says, in a stark warning that life won’t “get back to normal” for some time, as Anthony Albanese pleads with the mining industry to prioritise national security and be “constructive” with government.

Mining and farming industries face more turmoil as plants on either side of Australia making a key explosives and fertiliser ingredient shut down.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart says that in the midst of a global oil shock, the federal government should stop treating petrol and diesel as a “luxury purchase” and end the 52 cents per litre excise tax.

Morgan Stanley says Australia is one of the countries most exposed to the fallout of an extended conflict in the Middle East, pointing to an outsize reliance on imported oil and warning of a hit to earnings.

The Australian government must get real on the needs of business to develop here.

Australia’s 90-day fuel reserve target is based on net imports, not total use. The argument is that real fuel security would come from boosting Australia’s own oil and gas production and refining capacity.

Australia’s fuel security vulnerabilities are no longer theoretical. Despite official assurances that supply remains stable, concerns from farmers, regional communities and supply chain leaders suggest the country is dangerously exposed. Industry leaders argue years of ideology-driven energy policy and ignored warnings have left Australia vulnerable at a time of growing geopolitical and economic risk.

Think of wind, solar, and batteries as the three legs of a stool supporting the Net Zero transition program.