By Andrew Mackinnon
Last updated: 3rd May, 2025
The resources in the ground in Australia, including coal, natural gas, iron ore (from which steel is produced), bauxite (from which aluminium is produced), copper sulfide (from which copper is produced) and many other hydrocarbons, minerals and metals, are owned by the Australian federal government on behalf of Australian citizens, not privately owned mining companies that extract them.
The ownership of the resources in the ground in Australia by the Australian federal government on behalf of Australian citizens is a separate concept from the cost of privately owned mining companies extracting these resources, which cannot be avoided if these resources are going to be utilised.
The Australian federal government could contract privately owned mining companies on behalf of Australian citizens to extract the resources in the ground in Australia in physical amounts set by the Australian federal government on behalf of Australian citizens.
(This distinction of the Australian federal government setting the physical amount of the resources in the ground in Australia to be extracted on behalf of Australian citizens, on account of its ownership of these resources on behalf of Australian citizens, is presumably missing from the way the mining industry in Australia operates today.)
It would be logical for the Australian federal government to pay privately owned mining companies the agreed prices of extracting the resources in the ground in Australia and continue its ownership of the extracted resources on behalf of Australian citizens.
The Australian federal government could transfer the ownership of the extracted coal at a price which covers the cost of extraction of this resource on a not-for-profit basis to a publicly owned Australian federal government entity named “Australian Coal”, which is responsible for distributing and selling coal across the entirety of Australia, charging Australian citizens, Australian businesses and Australian not-for-profit entities for the coal that it distributes and sells on a not-for-profit basis (such as a publicly owned Australian federal government entity named “Australian Electricity”, which is responsible for generating, distributing and selling electricity across the entirety of Australia, charging Australian citizens, Australian businesses and Australian not-for-profit entities for the electricity that it generates, distributes and sells on a not-for-profit basis), as well as distributing and selling coal to other white countries around the world as an export on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of white citizens of other white countries around the world and to non-white countries around the world as an export on a for-profit basis for the benefit of Australian citizens.
Coal should be used to generate electricity in Australia.
Solar panels can be used by the private sector (i.e. Australian citizens, Australian businesses and Australian not-for-profit entities) to generate electricity in Australia but should not be used by the public sector (i.e. Australian federal, state, territorial and local governments) to generate electricity in Australia.
Ban wind turbines used to generate electricity in Australia, on account of the excessive levels of noise that wind turbines used to generate electricity in Australia produce (to the detriment of people and animals in their vicinity) and the damage that wind turbines used to generate electricity in Australia inflict upon animals, such as birds, by injuring and killing them.
Natural gas should be used for cooking, heating and transportation in Australia, as well as industrial requirements in Australia (such as manufacturing requirements in Australia) but should not be used to generate electricity in Australia, unless there are compelling reasons to do so.
The Australian federal government could transfer the ownership of the extracted natural gas at a price which covers the cost of extraction of this resource on a not-for-profit basis to a publicly owned Australian federal government entity named “Australian Natural Gas”, which is responsible for producing, distributing and selling processed natural gas across the entirety of Australia, charging Australian citizens, Australian businesses and Australian not-for-profit entities for the processed natural gas that it produces, distributes and sells on a not-for-profit basis, as well as distributing and selling processed natural gas to other white countries around the world as an export on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of white citizens of other white countries around the world and to non-white countries around the world as an export on a for-profit basis for the benefit of Australian citizens.
Natural gas should be used for cooking, heating and transportation in Australia, as well as industrial requirements in Australia (such as manufacturing requirements in Australia) but should not be used to generate electricity in Australia, unless there are compelling reasons to do so.
The Australian federal government could transfer the ownership of the extracted coal and extracted iron ore at prices which cover the cost of extraction of these resources on a not-for-profit basis to a publicly owned Australian federal government entity named “Australian Steel”, which is responsible for producing, distributing and selling steel across the entirety of Australia, charging Australian citizens, Australian businesses and Australian not-for-profit entities for the steel that it produces, distributes and sells on a not-for-profit basis, as well as distributing and selling steel to other white countries around the world as an export on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of white citizens of other white countries around the world and to non-white countries around the world as an export on a for-profit basis for the benefit of Australian citizens.
The Australian federal government could transfer the ownership of the extracted bauxite at a price which covers the cost of extraction of this resource on a not-for-profit basis to a publicly owned Australian federal government entity named “Australian Aluminium”, which is responsible for producing, distributing and selling aluminium across the entirety of Australia, charging Australian citizens, Australian businesses and Australian not-for-profit entities for the aluminium that it produces, distributes and sells on a not-for-profit basis, as well as distributing and selling aluminium to other white countries around the world as an export on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of white citizens of other white countries around the world and to non-white countries around the world as an export on a for-profit basis for the benefit of Australian citizens.
The Australian federal government could transfer the ownership of the extracted copper sulfide at a price which covers the cost of extraction of this resource on a not-for-profit basis to a publicly owned Australian federal government entity named “Australian Copper”, which is responsible for producing, distributing and selling copper across the entirety of Australia, charging Australian citizens, Australian businesses and Australian not-for-profit entities for the copper that it produces, distributes and sells on a not-for-profit basis, as well as distributing and selling copper to other white countries around the world as an export on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of white citizens of other white countries around the world and to non-white countries around the world as an export on a for-profit basis for the benefit of Australian citizens.
Et cetera.
(The resources in Australia are coal, natural gas, iron ore, bauxite, copper sulfide and many others.)
If Australia had a publicly owned, federal “Australian Bank” that lends without charging interest, then the Australian federal government could finance the cost of paying privately owned mining companies the agreed prices of extracting resources in Australia via the Australian Bank lending to a publicly owned Australian federal government entity named “Australian Mining” (i.e. creating money out of nothing when it lends like banks do, by debiting its asset account named “Loans Receivable” and crediting its liability account named “Deposits”, being the bank account of Australian Mining with the Australian Bank, in order to make the funds loaned available to Australian Mining).
Australia needs a publicly owned, federal “Australian Bank” that lends without charging interest.
Australian Mining could pay privately owned mining companies the agreed prices of extracting the resources in the ground in Australia and thereby retain ownership of the extracted resources as a publicly owned Australian federal government entity on behalf of Australian citizens.
The loan from the Australian Bank to Australian Mining could be repaid with the funds obtained when these extracted resources are ultimately sold by the publicly owned Australian federal government entity to which ownership of these extracted resources is transferred (i.e. Australian Mining sells these resources on a not-for-profit basis to cover the costs of extraction of these resources and other necessary costs), being “Australian Resources” (comprising “Australian Coal”, “Australian Natural Gas”, “Australian Steel”, “Australian Aluminium”, “Australian Copper”, et cetera), as coal, processed natural gas, steel, aluminium, copper, et cetera, to end-user Australian citizens, Australian businesses and Australian not-for-profit entities, as well as to other white countries around the world as an export on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of white citizens of other white countries around the world and to non-white countries around the world as an export on a for-profit basis for the benefit of Australian citizens.
The Australian federal government could sell any extracted resources that are surplus to the needs of Australian citizens, Australian businesses and Australian not-for-profit entities (such as extracted coal) and any production output that is surplus to the needs of Australian citizens, Australian businesses and Australian not-for-profit entities, such as processed natural gas, steel, aluminium, copper, et cetera, to other white countries around the world, such as Ireland, Britain, Germany, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Russia, Canada, United States of America and New Zealand, on a not-for-profit basis, at prices that match the costs incurred by the Australian federal government to extract the resources or produce the output, in order to obtain the currencies of these other white countries (held in the banks in these other white countries on behalf of the Australian federal government) and to non-white countries around the world, such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Italy, on a for-profit basis, at prices that exceed the costs incurred by the Australian federal government to extract the resources or produce the output, in order to obtain the currencies of these non-white countries (held in the banks in these non-white countries on behalf of the Australian federal government), which can be used by the Australian federal government to:
~ purchase goods or services from these other countries, such as motor vehicles from Japan for Australian federal government motor vehicle fleets and military equipment from the United States of America for the defence of Australia
~ purchase goods from any one of these other countries on behalf of any given Australian citizen, Australian business or Australian not-for-profit entity, who or which seeks to purchase the goods but needs the currency of the other country before they can purchase the goods, so that the Australian citizen, Australian business or Australian not-for-profit entity can pay the Australian federal government the required price of the goods in Australian dollars on a currency-exchange basis via a publicly owned Australia Bank (containing the bank accounts of every Australian federal government entity, every Australian local government entity, every Australian citizen, every Australian business and every Australian not-for-profit entity), so that the Australian federal government can authorise the appropriate currency under its ownership in the appropriate amount in the appropriate bank in the appropriate other country to be utilised to pay for the goods on behalf of the Australian citizen, Australian business or Australian not-for-profit entity, so that the goods will be dispatched to the Australian citizen, Australian business or Australian not-for-profit entity by the seller of the goods in the other country
Until such time as the Australian federal government can implement this policy in full, the Australian federal government should charge mining businesses operating in Australia royalties of 25% on the sale prices of all resources that mining businesses operating in Australia extract in Australia and sell in Australia or other countries around the world as exports from Australia, including coal, natural gas, iron ore (from which steel is produced), bauxite (from which aluminium is produced), copper sulfide (from which copper is produced) and many other hydrocarbons, minerals and metals.
These royalties of 25% are based on the notional concept that there are seven components of the sale price of any resource that any mining business operating in Australia extracts in Australia and sells in Australia or another country around the world as an export from Australia, being:
~ the capital investment required by the mining business operating in Australia to extract the resource in Australia
~ the cost incurred by the mining business operating in Australia to extract the resource in Australia
~ the sale price obtained by the mining business operating in Australia for the resource extracted in Australia and sold to its buyer in Australia or another country around the world as an export from Australia
~ relevant costs incurred by the mining business operating in Australia, in order to sell the resource extracted in Australia to its buyer in Australia or another country around the world as an export from Australia
~ the cost incurred by the mining business operating in Australia of shipping the resource extracted in Australia to its buyer in Australia or another country around the world as an export from Australia
~ the interest of the Australian federal government in the resource extracted in Australia and sold to its buyer in Australia or another country around the world as an export from Australia, as the rightful owner of the resource on behalf of Australian citizens
~ the interest of the mining business operating in Australia in the resource extracted in Australia and sold to its buyer in Australia or another country around the world as an export from Australia, as the extractor and seller of the resource
These royalties of 25% are designed to reflect the entitlement of the Australian federal government to 50% of the gross profit of the resource (being the sale price of the resource minus the extraction cost of the resource, as well as other relevant costs, such as sales costs and shipping costs), on an even-handed partnership basis with the mining business operating in Australia, while recognising the enormous capital investment that mining businesses operating in Australia make, in order to extract resources in Australia, as well as the value of incentivising mining businesses to operate in Australia and extract resources in Australia, for the benefit of Australian citizens and citizens of other countries around the world, by accepting a lower percentage of royalties than the Australian federal government is entitled to (i.e. less than 50% of the gross profit of the resource), as the rightful owner of the resource on behalf of Australian citizens, who is transacting on an even-handed partnership basis with the mining business operating in Australia.
It is important that the Australian federal government properly informs Australian citizens that these royalties of 25% that the Australian federal government charges mining businesses operating in Australia on the sale prices of all resources that mining businesses operating in Australia extract in Australia and sell to buyers in Australia or other countries around the world as exports from Australia do not constitute taxes on the profits of mining businesses operating in Australia but financial compensation paid to the Australian federal government on the sale of these resources in Australia, as the rightful owner of these resources in Australia on behalf of Australian citizens.
These royalties of 25% are not in place of but in addition to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that the Australian federal government presumably charges on the sale of resources extracted in Australia by mining businesses operating in Australia to buyers in Australia because these royalties of 25% are not taxes but financial compensation paid to the Australian federal government on the sale of these resources, as the rightful owner of these resources in Australia on behalf of Australian citizens.
Obviously it could be advantageous for the Australian federal government to charge mining businesses operating in Australia royalties on the sale prices of all resources that mining businesses operating in Australia extract in Australia and sell in Australia or other countries around the world as exports from Australia on a case-by-case basis, specific to:
~ the capital investment required by the mining business operating in Australia to extract the resource in Australia
~ the cost incurred by the mining business operating in Australia to extract the resource in Australia
~ the sale price obtained by the mining business operating in Australia for the resource extracted in Australia and sold to its buyer in Australia or another country around the world as an export from Australia
~ relevant costs incurred by the mining business operating in Australia, in order to sell the resource extracted in Australia to its buyer in Australia or another country around the world as an export from Australia
~ the cost incurred by the mining business operating in Australia of shipping the resource extracted in Australia to its buyer in Australia or another country around the world as an export from Australia
~ the interest of the Australian federal government in the resource extracted in Australia and sold to its buyer in Australia or another country around the world as an export from Australia, as the rightful owner of the resource on behalf of Australian citizens
~ the interest of the mining business operating in Australia in the resource extracted in Australia and sold to its buyer in Australia or another country around the world as an export from Australia, as the extractor and seller of the resource
For your consideration…