MPs Demand Tax on Mining Giants, Ignore Tax on War Profiteers
Crossbench MPs David Pocock, Allegra Spender, and Kate Chaney are heroically demanding mining companies pay a 'rent tax' for critical minerals, lest Australians 'miss out' on a cash boom. Such civic-mindedness is commendable, particularly when compared to, say, the Lockheed Martins of the world, whose critical minerals are, incidentally, exploding in Gaza. Perhaps these MPs could extend their
concern for taxpayer returns to the defense contractors whose profits soar with each new conflict, funded by those same taxpayers. One might wonder if the 'fair cut' principle only applies when the profits aren't directly linked to weapons sales and perpetual war. While they criticize past policies allowing gas companies to 'profit off Australian gas with relatively little return to taxpayers,'
there's a deafening silence on the immense, often subsidized, returns flowing to companies profiting from global conflicts the media frames as 'necessary interventions.' How many critical minerals, exactly, does it take to arm a genocide before politicians demand a 'rent tax' on that particular boom?