Shorten ridicules backflip on iron ore
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has all but dismissed the idea of Labor supporting an inquiry into the iron ore industry.
The government is considering setting up a joint select committee of parliament to look at the reasons behind the sharp drop in prices for Australia’s biggest export, which has had a huge impact on the federal budget.
But the prospects of Labor backing the idea have faltered, with Shorten on Wednesday describing it as another “Prince Philip” moment for Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Abbott – who last week backed an inquiry but has been stepping back on it since then – faced public ridicule and questions about his judgment from within the Liberal Party when he decided to award a knighthood to Prince Phillip.
“I think Tony Abbott is having a Prince Philip moment when it comes to iron ore,” Shorten told 5AA radio on Wednesday.
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If the government was concerned about the big iron ore producers misusing their market power then the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission should be called in to investigate, he said.
“I’m skeptical at this point about what this iron ore price inquiry would solve,” Shorten said.
“Tony Abbott needs to pick one position and stick to it and tell us what is going on.”
Shorten said he was concerned about the shedding of jobs in the industry and what the government planned to do to find new areas of employment.
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He was also worried Australia’s iron ore competitors could benefit from the “instability” being generated by the government.
Meanwhile, Fortescue chief executive Nev Power has rejected claims the company’s call for a parliamentary inquiry into the iron ore sector goes against free market principles.
Power said with just four companies – Rio Tinto, BHP, Vale and Fortescue – responsible for most of the world’s seaborne supply, the iron ore market was even more concentrated than the oil market, which is dominated by the OPEC cartel.
“We hear a lot of discussions about free markets, but I can tell you if this was a domestic market it would be regulated like you wouldn’t believe,” he told a conference in Sydney.
“This is highly concentrated and each of the four big producers has a massive impact over what the market structure is.”
Fortescue has been calling for an inquiry into the market, amid accusations rivals Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are flooding it to drive down the price and push out higher cost producers. Rio and BHP have both rejected the claims, and raised fears that an inquiry into the iron ore price would raise concerns among Australia’s trading partners.
– AAP
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