I am in two minds about this. I wouldn't mind having a crack at mine wirl myself, but like a few before me, I can't see my family agreeing to it. With unemployment at <5%, there really isn't a lot of people who could go and do the job. And please, don't bring out the old argument of "if people are on the dole they should go". Most of them are on the dole because they're useless pr1cks, some are just stuck where they are and there is no employment and they can't move for one reason or another. Mines don't want no-hopers anymore than you would want to woek with them. (Same argument against compulsory military service - why train a drongo to shoot people?).
My biggest concern is the cause of the drought, a skills shortage. If we import skilled workers we don't train or retain those skills here and the money leaves the country. We need to skill up. Apprenticeships are rare these days.
As for profitability of these companies, they are making good money from our collective resources. Bring on the mining tax and make sure the miniing companies themselves are paying tax, because to date they have not paid their share at all, with all the tax write offs and concessions that have been put in place.
This is not a Labor vs Liberal issue, is a today issue.
