But Mr Swan leapt on a suggestion from Mrs Rinehart in the video that firms operating in the Gulf of Mexico could reduce costs if they used "illegal labour from Mexico and the south".
"Not only has Gina Rinehart told her paymaster Tony Abbott he should consider slashing the minimum wage, now she says a competitive way to lower labour costs is by utilising illegal labour," a spokesman for the Treasurer said.
Having listened to her talk in its entirety, I can only conclude that Gina is politically inept.
..; She should be a lot more careful in what she says. This was not an impromptu door stop interview that might be excused for badly thought out answers to ambush style questions, but a rehearsed pre-recorded speech that should have been vetted by people with more political nous than her.
When it comes to productivity, she should perhaps concentrate on the broader economic perspective in that lower productivity will ultimately result in a lower dollar and hence lower real wages. I do wonder how much her perspective extends beyond her own immediate business interests. If it doesn't, she would do well to avoid public comment on economic matters. She's not going to win public support for her position on productivity from the standpoint of $2 a day wages in Africa.She must be aware that Labor sees her as a figurative example of the big bad cigar smoking capitalist and are using her speeches to not only attack the mining industry, but also attack the coalition by demanding they disassociate from her views. She should be a lot more careful in what she says. This was not an impromptu door stop interview that might be excused for badly thought out answers to ambush style questions, but a rehearsed pre-recorded speech that should have been vetted by people with more political nous than her.
In other words, she should politicians' weasel language.
In other words, she should politicians' weasel language.
I'm not suggesting that at all. I'm suggesting that she should tie up some loose wording in her speech so that her opponents can't twist what she is saying into something that she was not trying to convey.
Just adding "I am not advocating such policies....." when talking about African and Gulf working conditions would have deprived Swan and Gillard of their glib responses and simplistic dismissal of her speech..
Having listened to her talk in its entirety, I can only conclude that Gina is politically inept.
Only twisted leftist political minds could infer that she was advocating this for Australia.
You think? She could have got a lot further by prefacing everything with "I've been really lucky in my life and now I want to give back by improving productivity etc.".
Wayne Swan could get a lot further by prefacing everything with" I'm lucky, no matter how I screw up your lives, I'll get an indexed, government gauranteed pension for the rest my life".
Jeez get a life, I don't agree with her opinions, however she and Forrest have a lot more 'skin' in the game than Swan and Gillard.
Also It's o.k for the goon show to pay out on Gina about $2/hr workers, but didn't they give her the o.k to bring in Chinese workers?
Unless Gina and Twiggy's accountants are complete morons the iron ore price could collapse to $10 and they would still have enough money to use what Gillard and Swan will get in a year on their parliamentary pensions for coasters.
At least she's up for attempting to make the point to the government and anyone else who cares to listen.Having listened to her talk in its entirety, I can only conclude that Gina is politically inept.
Did anyone else hear that Wayne Swan has dismissed Rinehart's video as "pearl rattling"? This coming from the party that constantly claims Abbott is being sexist and has a problem with powerful women
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2012/s3583308.htm
I've actually never heard this expression before but I assume it is a derrogatory comment implying Rinehart is a just a rich woman spouting forth while fiddling with her pearls. I can't see how this expression could be applied to a man. Now who is being sexist and has a problem wih powerful women?
(Someone please correct me if I am wrong and jumping to conclusions).
Yes, unfortunately you have a valid point. Listening to her speech her meaning was quite clear and she was not at all suggesting a similar wage apply in Australia.Which is just my point in a way. Probably less than 1% of people will actually listen to her speech. The rest will base their opinion on what is said on the TV and radio news. This will be the comments from Gillard and Swan and perhaps a 30 second excerpt from Gina's speech, most likely the bit where she talks about Africans just being paid $2 per day. They will use that part to tie in with Gillard's comment.
What people infer from those 3 clips will be very different from what they would infer from listening to her complete speech. That is why she should not have left an opening for Gillard and Swan to imply she was inferring something she was not.
I paid $2.10 for a doughnut today! F**ken carbon tax
These Labor voters are still clogging up my street! Can someone send over a bulldozer?
I was asked how I would sell more copies of the fairfax papers and I simply said I'd buy more myself.
I can't watch this anymore, time for my second dinner anyway. #4corners
There is a fake Gina "Twitter account" up and running. (Gina Rinehart@FairfaxGina). Some strong language
Probably less than 1% of people will actually listen to her speech. The rest will base their opinion on what is said on the TV and radio news. This will be the comments from Gillard and Swan and perhaps a 30 second excerpt from Gina's speech, most likely the bit where she talks about Africans just being paid $2 per day. They will use that part to tie in with Gillard's comment.
I just watched the 9pm news on ABC 24 (Perth) and it has played out just as I expected. From Gina's 10 minute speech, there was about 10 seconds of her mentioning the special economic zone across the north of Australia, another 10 seconds of her mentioning African mining workers are being paid $2 per day followed by a clip of Gillard saying that we in Australia are not going to stoop to throwing a couple of dollars a day at our mining workers (I can't remember her exact words). While this was going on, a banner sliding across the bottom of the screen read something like "Rinehart accused of insulting Australian workers in her speech".
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