Gillard can butt out

Julia Gillard says that mining companies don’t own the minerals – Australians do. One small problem… they actually do. From WA mining act:

Subject to this Act and to any conditions to which the mining lease is subject, the lessee of a mining lease … owns all minerals lawfully mined from the land under the mining lease.

Secondly the minerals are owned by states, not all Australians. Victorians have no claim on WA minerals by law. One would think a former lawyer should be across such stuff.

If Australians really think they own this stuff they can get shovels and go dig the minerals out themselves, refine them themselves, sell them to Chinese and so on. No problems. I am fine with that. If CFMU boys think it is such a doddle to make huge profits in mining why are they wasting time fighting the miners, they could just run a rival mega profitable business for the benefit of their union. Or… why not nationalise the industry and make this “our ownership” official?