“Why Doesn't Labor Just Tax Our Resources?” Says Teal Voter Who Was Convinced That Silly Woman's Mining Tax Would Ruin This Country

“Why Doesn't Labor Just Tax Our Resources?” Says Teal Voter Who Was Convinced That Silly Woman's Mining Tax Would Ruin This Country

CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT

A man who is literally the reason why the government are scared to tax our natural resources at 25% says Labor should just pull their fingers out and do what Norway is doing.

Gregor Bender (71) is sick and tired of the 'winners and losers' narrative that he sees every Federal Budget.

The former banking executive says of course there's a lot of money being wasted when it comes to government spending - but this country could easily be rich enough to not have to even worry about that.

"We wouldn't have to slash the NDIS or the Capital Gains Tax discount if our government wasn't so beholden to these fossil fuels giants" says Gregor.

As a die-hared Teal voter, who began voting independently after Malcolm Turnbull got shafted by that neckless bogan from Cronulla, Gregor has sat through enough painful dinner parties with Sky News viewers to not give a fuck about what anyone thinks of his post-retirement political views

Most recently he's began subscribing to the same political talking points as the former Wallabies captain turned Federal Senator, David Pocock.

"Why don't we just slap a 25% tax on all gas exports" he growls.

"We know it's the right thing to do. It's easy to do. What's stopping them?"

However, in the midst of Gregor's journey into 7th-decade political enlightenment, it appears lost on both him and his teal-voting family that it was people like them that ushered in Prime Minister Tony Abbott to scrap the mining tax.

The Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) was a tax imposed on the corporate multinationals by the Australian government, under Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

The tax saw the government snatch 30% of the "super profits" from the mining of iron ore and coal in Australia. It was a watered down replacement of the Resource Super Profit Tax (RSPT) - which was proposed under Kevin Rudd - with 40% oof profits going to Australian people.

It could be argued that this particular issue, which is now very mainstream and bipartisan, is the reason that both Rudd and Gillard's careers went up in flames in the face of a highly organised and vicious media campaign to paint them as socialist baby-eaters who wanted to destroy Australia by taxing these poor resource companies.

Gregor was one the many swinging voters who elected Tony Abbott to Parliament with 90 seat majority.

"Oh no... It wasn't like that" says Gregor, refuting any suggestion that he was brainwashed by the billions of dollars that the Mineral Council and other reptilian lobby groups poured into the Murdoch papers.

With annual corporate profits reaching roughly $51 billion during the mining boom (2010-2020) - Gillard's MRRT tax would have netted Australia $153 billion dollars.

Rudd's initial RSPT tax would've accrued $204 billion in that same time.

"Julia was just not up to the job" says Gregor.

"It had nothing to do with the mining tax. It was time for a change"

"The spending was out of control"

Tony Abbott scrapped the mining tax in his first year of government.

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