From The Australian:
An Australian Workers’ Union resolution demanding a parliamentary inquiry into Rio Tinto and BHP’s iron ore practices is baseless grandstanding, the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) says.
The Australian Workers’ Union’s national meeting on Monday passed a resolution condemning the companies for what it claimed was “unconscionable market conduct”.
The AWU accused the mining pair of flooding the iron ore market while demand is falling to drive smaller, higher cost suppliers out of the sector.
It’s not often I agree with the Minerals Council of Australia but its description of this as “baseless” is right. BHP and RIO are not “flooding” the market. The juniors, FMG, Roy Hill, Anglo, Vale and other Brazilian juniors, Sino, BHP and RIO are doing that.
That’s vibrant competition though not all in Australia. Yes, some will be driven out. But others will survive and there will be more competition in the market than before the boom.
Ironically, the AWU is effectively calling for the ACCC to establish an Australian iron ore cartel that limits supply.
