Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

The head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Mr Graeme Samuel, was in the paper recently saying—if he was correctly reported—that he would have to question the takeover of Rio Tinto by BHP Billiton. We were talking about spine before. Marius Kloppers, the head of BHP, has shown considerable courage and resolution in standing up to the Chinese over the issue of iron ore prices. On the subject of iron ore prices, he would be in a much more powerful position to deal with China and a position much more beneficial to the people of Australia if he were able to proceed with the takeover of Rio Tinto.

Mr Samuel never made a peep when the seven major mining companies in this country were taken over by foreign corporations. So whilst minerals have risen 300 per cent in value, all of that benefit has floated overseas. The people on both sides of this House have an awful lot to answer for, but Mr Samuel and his officers at the ACCC are being paid big money to do a job they are not doing. They never made a peep when all those Australian mining companies were being taken over, but when an Australian managed company—it may not be an Australian owned company, but it is an Australian managed company; it is managed by Marius Kloppers, an Australian—attempts to take over a foreign company, suddenly we are getting loud economic reationalism lectures from this man. He is acting to the detriment of the Australian people and should be removed from office. This is no cause for shaking your head here, Mr Acting Speaker—I mean Madam Acting Speaker.

See this speech in context