Coal miners are not just dirt shifters, but the most of Australia thinks they are. Hence, the Greens policy, which will probably gain traction in many parts of the nation.
It is no secret that coal has an image problem at the moment. That is despite its current contribution to the nation's balance sheet.
Hogsback is sick of being accosted at dinner parties and being told that all coal leads to is pollution and big holes in the ground.
What is needed is for each coal miner to be a leader in his or her own community so their qualities are visible to all.
The recently released Aussie Mine Report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers has some useful suggestions about how the mining industry could show more leadership.
"Leadership of mining companies is often dominated by large personalities, carrying a ‘big stick' mentality towards performance," the report states.
"Failure is publicly called out and shamed, stifling innovation and leading to conservative cultures where only minor productivity improvements are realised.
"Coaching and support from managers and general managers is essential in creating a culture of continuous improvement and productivity."
One-on-one training of mining leaders on meeting preparation and situational management, observations and on-the-spot feedback on culture, are proven to have significant and lasting impacts on behaviour, and on the development of an improvement-focused mindset across operational teams, the report states.
Innovation at the mine will permeate to innovation in the society and hopefully a greater recognition of the quality of Australia's mining workforce.
The PwC report states there has to be a move from "dirt boss" to "data boss" amongst mining leaders.
"Few industries have assets that produce more data than mining equipment," it says.
"Yet many mining companies do not use this data - instead managing via ‘gut feel', handwritten notes or basic, high level reports.
"Major mining companies are starting to embrace data analytics as a differentiator of performance, but we're still to see this approach being widely adopted across mid-tier miners."
Hogsback reckons that better leadership will not only lift productivity but also help ensure the survival -- and possibly liberty -- of Australian coal miners.
