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3 December has a couple of interesting resonances for this blind Jesuit. It is the feast day of St Francis Xavier — Jesuit missionary extraordinaire. It is also the International Day of Persons with a Disability. It seems to me that the two anniversaries have more than a little in common — both in what they tell us about the limits and the promise of human life in the image of God.
In January, the tailings dam of a deactivated iron ore mine in Brumadinho, Brazil failed, releasing toxic mud that caused devastation, 117 deaths and intergenerational ecological and economic consequences. It should, and could, have been prevente by the company, Vale, who was also responsible for past tailings dam destruction.
These sprinklings of poison through the press, with occasional mentions in New Zealand, serve two purposes: to show Australian refugee policy as sound, and offshore detention and resettlement in an unsuitable third country as appropriate; and to deflect attention from the discharge of obligations under the UN Refugee Convention.
In 2012, a pregnant woman and two of her children were killed in their own home in Tampakan, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Tampakan is the site of a new mine with Australian interests. The woman was the wife of a B'laan tribal leader agitating against the mine. Over recent years indigenous peoples of Mindanao been harassed, displaced and killed by militias, some allegedly with the imprimatur of the Philippine army. Much of this has passed without notice in Australia.
While mining is a source of great wealth for Australia, its socio-ecological benefits are mixed. Yet the sheer power of the industry means a balanced conversation on these issues is yet to start. Both major parties are beholden to the industry and fear the advertising power its money can buy. Two examples demonstrate the problem.
Fake ANZ media release activist Jonathan Moylan did the wrong thing in undermining public confidence in the share trading system. But he would not have seen the need to act if governments and the coal industry were acting with integrity and in the public interest.
While we have have East Timorese students coming here to learn about how to look after their oil sector, Australia should be sending people to East Timor to look at their outstanding example of how to safely and wisely preserve oil revenue for future generations.
To view the mining sector as central to the welfare of the economy is a furphy. The mining industry is not supporting other sectors of the economy, it's holding them back. Even in the states where mining dominates, the positive effects of the industry boom on the wider economy are questionable.
Julia Gillard is expected to exercise moral authority because she was chosen by her party to work for the common good of the nation. Her agreement with major mining companies to take the sting out of the mining tax shows a poor start.
The Government's theoretical model does not stand up to scrutiny in the real world. Collecting higher taxes from the mining industry to disburse for other worthwhile purposes may be perceived as contributing to the 'common good'. In fact, the reverse could be true.
Kevin Rudd has been accused of plucking the goose that laid the golden egg. Amid fears of frightening mining investors, few have queried the rush to plunder Australia's mineral wealth. Future generations could need it more than we do.
The Martidja Manyjima people of the Pilbara want a WA mining registrar to hear their challenge to BHP Billiton's claim for more mining leases on 200 square kilometres of their traditional land. The outcome will affect every one of us. September 2009
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