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From another angle.... CONSUMER WATCHDOG STILL HUMPING SWANNY’S...

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    From another angle....

    CONSUMER WATCHDOG STILL HUMPING SWANNY’S LEG



    23 HOURS AGO
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    1198 COMMENTS
    “It’s worth looking at”, said Julie Bishop when asked about Twiggy Forrest’s suggestion that regulation of Australia’s iron ore production could restore prices. PM Abbott and Treasurer Hockey rejected the proposal out of hand after hearing from the ACCC that Twiggy could face prosecution for even suggesting Australia’s miners should form a "cartel".
    Wayne swan appointee, ACCC Chairman Rod Sims, says in his own mission statement that his role is to,
    “Give Australian consumers the same rights and protections wherever they are in Australia.
    “Simplify (by usurping section 51 of Consumer Law) and reduce business compliance burdens by replacing provisions set out in 20 existing national, State and Territory laws with a single national consumer law; and,
    “Create a national enforcement regime, with consistent enforcement powers for Australia's consumer protection agencies to take effective action for consumers.”.
    Hmmm, reduce business compliance burdens eh? What a load of frog droppings!
    Mr Sims’ role is to is to keep an eye on domestic businesses who may be ripping of local consumers, and that’s an honourable Labor Party objective, but Mr Sims should keep his pointy little Left wing nose out of international trade matters.
    Now that Swanny doesn’t have his surplus problems he’d be quite happy to see the Coalition suffer from a collapse in ore prices.
    Sims’ intention to decide if Twiggy should be charged with an offence for merely suggesting Australia should regulate its production to maintain the value of its ore, is outrageous and yet another example of Labor’s out of touch appointees.
    Julie Bishop was right, we should certainly look at the proposal (although she has since backed off, supporting the Hockey line).
    International trade has always been, and will aways be, about price-fixing. The 12 member OPEC cartel, led by Saudi Arabia, is currently using oil production levels to fix prices. It is currently trying to sabotage the West’s self sufficiency in energy by flooding the market with an oversupply of oil, forcing prices down below US producers’ ability to survive.
    Barack Obama is using an executive order to assist OPEC with his refusal to allow the completion of the Keystone pipeline from Canada.
    China stockpiles high-grade Australian ore and purchases cheaper Mongolian ore to regulate the price. All countries indent (forward purchase) minerals to alleviate their exposure to price hikes.
    South Africa’s De Beers diamond syndicate, operating as a "producers' cooperative", exercises its formidable power over its own industry. It was reported in the 80s to have dumped a million carats in low-grade, rough diamonds into the ocean to maintain world prices.
    After the price per carat had almost halved in one year in the 90’s, the South African syndicate of companies openly agreed to limit production. Why not?
    In fact, De Beers was able to gain a long-sought-after foothold in the emerging Canadian diamond industry in early 1999 when it reached an agreement with BHP and Canada's Dia Met Minerals Ltd, who had agreed to dump 35 per cent of their output.
    It’s the same with all international trade, from minerals to consumables.
    The stupidity of the ACCC’s Rod Sims is breathtaking. If the world’s wheat prices collapse and growers have silos full of unsold grain, should they not consider reducing the acreage they plant the following year? What is the difference with iron ore for Christ’s sake? And anyway WTF has it got to do with a domestic consumer protection agency like the ACCC?
    The overlap of Labor appointees who still survive in Government agencies demonstrates why, economically, Labor was so inept.
    If Australia is to be a competitive player in international trade then we had better play by international rules and Mr Sims had better start concentrating on domestic consumer protections, as is his job description.
    Has he turned his mind to the halal certification rort running rampant through our retail outlets, pushing up prices and supporting foreign fighters?.
    Now there’s something that IS within his terms of reference.
 
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