1) Method: About the Research
In November 2012, SBS conducted research into Australians' perceptions of the mining industry. The survey was designed and results analysed by SBS, with fieldwork conducted by fieldwork agency i-Link. The sample included a nationally representative sample of 1,498 Australians. In addition to this, 101 people were surveyed living or working in mining communities. The survey probed Australians' feelings towards the mining industry and its effects on the economy, their personal finances, their communities, the environment and politics.
The research was conducted by SBS to inform discussion around mining in Australia in conjunction with SBS's documentary Dirty Business: How Mining Made Australia to broadcast on SBS ONE in January 2013.
At the same time, SBS commissioned qualitative insights from The Ipsos Mackay Report, Australia's longest running qualitative social study. The Ipsos Mackay Report draws on insights from twelve social studies conducted between October 2007 and 2012.
2) Executive Summary
Australians are keenly aware of the importance of mining to the national economy and our national identity. They are thankful for the role mining has played in boosting incomes, providing opportunities in regional Australia and sustaining us through the Global Financial Crisis. Many Australians feel a sense of ownership of our mineral resources and acknowledge that mining has played a crucial role in shaping Australia.
Australians recognise that mining is a mixed blessing for regional areas. While mining has undoubtedly provided a welcome economic boost in regional Australia, some people living in mining areas worry about the cost of living, dislocated families and localised environmental impacts.
Attitudes to the mineral resource rent tax (MRRT) finely divided. Support for the tax is divided along party lines.
Many Australians worry about foreign interests in Australian mining. Two thirds believe there should be restrictions on foreign ownership of Australian mining companies. Opinion leans towards restricting foreign workers, although it is far from unanimous. Opinion is neatly divided regarding the countries to which Australia exports minerals.
While acknowledging the benefits mining has brought to the wider economy, few Australians feel they have personally profited from the mining boom. Many feel that the rising cost of living has offset any increases in income that have resulted. Some worry that property is overvalued as a result of the boom. Australians are also concerned that Australia has become too reliant on mining, and worry about what will happen when the boom comes to an end.
3) The Economy and Personal Finances
The Ipsos Mackay Report found that Australians' attitudes towards mining have evolved over several years in reaction to the economic fortunes of Australia. Prior to the Global Financial Crisis, The Ipsos Mackay Report observed that many Australians resented not being able to share in the boom. However, the anxiety and fear brought about by the Global Financial Crisis transformed the resources boom "from something to complain about to a source of comfort and hope… as the boom shielded the country from the worst of the GFC". In 2012, Australians are increasingly concerned about the end of the boom, our reliance on China and what happens when demand for Australia's minerals finally runs out.
The Australian Perceptions of the Mining Industry survey found that Australians appreciate the benefits the mining boom has brought to the wider economy. 44% of Australians agree that the mining industry saved Australia during the Global Financial Crisis (only 9% disagree). 33% agree that the mining boom has helped boost property values (15% disagree). As an indication of the importance Australians place upon mining, the majority (54%) of Australians agreed with the statement "Mining is the biggest industry in Australia".
While acknowledging the benefits mining has brought to the wider economy, many Australians don't feel that they have benefited from the boom, personally. The Australian Perceptions of the Mining Industry survey found that only 10% of Australians believe they are financially better off because of the mining boom, compared to 53% who believe the boom has made no difference to their personal finances. Only 10% agree with the statement "My family or I have personally benefited from the mining boom" (57% disagree). 42% believe the mining boom has driven up the cost of living.
Respondents feel that the mining boom has created winners and losers. The Australian Perceptions of the Mining Industry survey found people in Queensland and Western Australia are twice as likely as people in New South Wales or Victoria to agree that "My family or I have personally benefited from the mining boom". People aged 18-34 are twice as likely as People 65+ to agree with that statement. Property owners – including home-owners and investors – are significantly more likely than renters to think that they are better off financially than before the mining boom.
Many Australians worry that the Australian economy and the governments are overly reliant on mining. The Australian Perceptions of the Mining Industry survey found that the majority of Australians believe mining is propping up the Australian economy (54% agree / 6% disagree). Half (52%) agree that property values are overpriced because of the mining boom (6% disagree). 57% worry that Australian governments are too reliant on revenue from the mining boom (7% disagree).
4) Mining and the Community
Australians are keenly aware of the importance of mining to the national economy and, indeed, the national identity. 57% of Australians surveyed by SBS agree with the statement "Mining has been instrumental in shaping Australia". The Ipsos Mackay Report found that "Australians feel a strong sense of attachment towards this industry [talking about] 'our' land and 'our' resources with a sense of ownership, perhaps not only because of the huge role this industry plays in the economy but also because of the defining role the 'land' plays in our cultural identity."
The Australian Perceptions of the Mining Industry survey found that Australians acknowledge that the mining boom has provided a welcome boost to regional Australia. 48% of Australians living in regional areas agree that regional areas have benefited from the mining boom (only 8% disagree). 69% of regional Australians recognise that mining provides job opportunities in regions where there may not otherwise have been any. 33% of people in regional areas agree that mining companies have a positive influence on the communities in which they operate (10% disagree). The majority of regional Australians (56%) also welcome the fact that mining has encouraged people to move to regional areas.
However, the same research found that people living in regional areas are also more aware of the potential downsides of mining. 20% of people living in regional areas agree mining has done more harm than good in regional Australia, significantly higher than 15% agreement in metro areas.
People actually living or working in mining communities see the mining boom as a mixed blessing. 40% of them believe the mining boom is a positive influence, as compared with 16% who see it as a negative. 43% agree that mining companies are a positive influence in the communities in which they operate (13% disagree). Mining communities welcome:
· employment and training opportunities, particularly for young people;
· the boost to local businesses, particularly the struggling hospitality sector; and
· the investments mining companies are making in infrastructure, schools and community projects.
"All the young people go up North and earn big money. Who wants to go to uni and be poor for three years? Our generation [will have] a whole lot of unskilled people."
(The Ipsos Mackay Report, June 2008)
However, weighing against the positives are concerns about:
· environmental damage;
· rising cost of living, particularly property values and rent; and
· structural damage to houses caused by undermining and blasting.
Some local businesses are unable to capitalise on rising demand because mines snap up many qualified workers. Some people in mining communities are concerned about the effects of transient work on families and communities. There is some resentment towards fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) workers, seen by some as profligate beneficiaries of a two-tier wage system who are reluctant to integrate with local communities. The Ipsos Mackay Report observed that some Australians, particularly in Western Australia, are "worried that the stampede to the mines would leave their state with a new class of greedy and ultimately unskilled worker". At the same time, there is genuine concern for the families of FIFO and transient workers who spend so much time away from home or are compelled to uproot their families to find work.
5) Politics
The Australian Perceptions of the Mining Industry survey found the mineral resource rent tax (MRRT) remains a divisive issue. 30% of Australians support it, 29% oppose it while 41% are either neutral or aren't sure what to think of it. Opinion is divided along party lines. Of those who consider themselves likely to vote for Labor in the next election: 56% support the tax while only 8% oppose it. Of likely Coalition voters: 15% support the tax compared with 51% who oppose it. 29% of voters say government regulation of mining will be a factor when they decide who to vote for at the next election.
The Ipsos Mackay Report observed in principle support for the concept of governments using the profits from resources to invest in sustainable economic projects for the post-boom era. However, they also found that many Australians are critical of the details of the tax. This is supported by the Australian Perceptions of the Mining Industry survey in which 48% of Australians agreed with the statement "It's fair that the rest of Australia shares in the spoils of the mining boom via the mining tax", but only 29% thought that the mining tax is good for the economy.
6) Foreign ownership, foreign labour and export markets
The Australian Perceptions of the Mining Industry found that many Australians worry about the level of foreign ownership of Australian mining companies. Two thirds of Australians (68%) believe there should be restrictions on the ownership of Australian mining companies (only 7% disagree), and 44% believe mining in Australia should only be done by wholly Australian owned companies. On average, Australians believe foreign ownership of mining should be limited to around 1/5th (21%).
The same research found that Australians lean towards limiting foreign workers, although opinion is far from unanimous. 44% think that mining companies should not be allowed to employ foreign workers, while 21% support miners bringing in foreign labour.
The survey found that opinion is finely balanced about the countries to which Australia exports its minerals. 32% believe Australia shares some responsibility for what other countries do with the minerals we export. However, 35% don't think it's Australia's responsibility. 29% support Australia selling uranium overseas, but 30% oppose it. 28% oppose Australia selling minerals to countries who are not strategic allies, while 29% approve of it.
"Whilst great for our economy China's low labour/pay rates means that they continue to make extraordinarily cheap goods that no one else can compete with."
(Australian Perceptions of the Mining Industry, SBS, 2012)
45% of Australians are concerned about Australia selling minerals to China, although only 15% say they're 'very concerned'. Concerns centre on: the potential for a Chinese military build-up; and a sense that Australia is losing out on the trade of exporting unprocessed minerals and buying back manufactured goods.
7) The Environment
Australians are aware of potential environmental impacts of mining and believe that environmental concerns are paramount, according to results from the Australian Perceptions of the Mining Industry survey. Few people (8%) believe mining operations are more important than environmental concerns. 53% think protecting Australia's wildlife and national parks comes first.
However, the same research found that opinion is divided as to whether mining companies are doing a good job of managing their environmental impact. Only 21% of people think mining companies are doing a bad job of managing their environmental impact. Roughly the same proportion (22%) agree that miners are doing a good job. 31% believe that mining is destroying the Australian environment. However, 20% believe that the environmental impacts of mining are exaggerated. People living in mining communities are significantly more positive about mining companies' environmental management.
8) The future of the boom
Australians are divided over how long the boom will last, according to the Australian Perceptions of the Mining Industry survey. One quarter believes it will be over within 2 years, but the same proportion thinks it will last at least another 10 years.
The Ipsos Mackay Report found a growing anxiety about Australia's reliance on mining and what will happen when the boom does end. In research conducted in 2010, the report observed concern amongst business leaders that the mining sector "encouraged a complacent approach to economic planning and that business and government were failing to utilise the profits from those resources in a strategic and forward thinking manner". Similarly, in 2012 The Ipsos Mackay Report observed mainstream concern about what will happen "to our economy, our jobs, our prosperity, when the minerals finally do run out."
