The boss of a major mining company recently made a plea to the industry to do more to win the hearts and minds of the broader public. A few days later the leader of the country hosting the bulk of his operations threatened to outlaw those opposed to mining.
What makes the situation more bizarre is that the threat against the right to protest was made by Scott Morrison, the prime minister of Australia, a country with a long democratic tradition and a history of political tolerance.
Morrison, the leader of the conservative Liberal Party, told a meeting of a mining lobby group on Nov. 2 that there is a “new breed of radical activism” that didn’t permit the expression of alternative viewpoints.
But seemingly unaware of the hypocrisy he was about to expound, Morrison said his government is looking at measures that would make it illegal to advocate so-called secondary boycotts of companies that do business with miners targeted by climate activists.
“Let me assure you this is not something my government intends to allow to go unchecked,” The Guardian newspaper reported Morrison as saying.
“Together with the attorney general, we are working to identify mechanisms that can successfully outlaw these indulgent and selfish practices that threaten the livelihoods of fellow Australians,” Morrison said.
Morrison’s comments unleashed a predictable storm of opposition from political rivals and legal experts, but the real damage is once again being inflicted on the mining industry.
The industry is increasingly split along climate change lines.
There are those who are determined to try and win public support for their operations by committing to reducing their carbon footprint and constantly highlighting that minerals are essential to the transition to a low-carbon economy.
And then there are those miners, predominantly coal producers, that are largely climate change denialists, and they are increasingly focused on debunking science while seeking the protection of conservative governments, such as those led by Morrison and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques used the keynote speech at last week’s London Metal Exchange annual forum to make the case that global miners need to do more to address climate change and community concerns over their operations.
Rio Tinto’s largest division, iron ore, is anchored in Australia and the company is the nation’s biggest exporter of the steel-making ingredient.
Jacques told the Oct. 28 forum that mining needed to do more on the environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) front in order to remain relevant and profitable as the world deals with climate change.
