Published in the January/February 2011 edition of RESOURCESTOCKS

As I’m based “over east”, in the “Rustbelt of Australia”, as one of The West Australian’s more outspoken correspondents likes to describe it, I believe I’m able to get a fairly full and accurate perspective on how the resources industry and its players are broadly perceived.

It may surprise most to know that the eastern states population at large is somewhat more understanding of the role of the resources industry, and its associated needs and concerns.

From my viewpoint, it’s more a case of the politicians and the media being out of step with public opinion.

The most appropriate example I can think of that best demonstrates the heightened level of concern about the industry’s welfare is the mining tax debate.

The government believed it was onto a sure-fire vote-winner. Slug the miners on the basis of some hastily cobbled together platform of supposed tax reform. What could be easier?

What the government didn’t count on was the capacity for ordinary people to think the issue through.

The letters pages of the major eastern states newspapers reflected strong support for the industry, contrary to the opinions of most government politicians and left-leaning media.

This broad acceptance defied the media stereotyping of mining as effectively a dirty, polluting, unfriendly, exploitative industry.

It was clear the mining tax was a serious election issue that engendered broad support from those who had historically no direct connection with the industry.

Unfortunately, the public’s attention was diverted by the “compromise”, the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, reached between the big miners and the government.

Over in the rustbelt, the generally held view was that the entire tax issue had been effectively “sorted” to the industry’s satisfaction.

This layman’s view was largely based on the fact that the Minerals Council of Australia had abandoned its advertising campaign.

The point of all of this is that the resource industry needs a louder and more independent voice, not one that reflects the concerns of just the biggest miners.

What’s good for the three biggest operators in Australia is not necessarily of relevance to the other 850-plus listed companies on the Australian Securities Exchange, nor the scores of unlisted operators out there.

Even the term “mining industry” is in itself a misnomer, as most participants are in fact explorers, not miners.

In the wake of the demonstrated shortcomings of the Minerals Council of Australia, the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies must become more vocal on industry matters. AMEC must ensure the junior sector gets noticed.

Another aspect where I believe the industry can present itself so much better is in terms of the personal nature of mining.

One of the eye-opening aspects of the mining tax campaign over east was the fact that the advertisements highlighted the “human face” of mining – the ordinary wage earners and small business people who make up the bulk of the industry.

For many ordinary people over in the rustbelt, this was perhaps the first time they’d seen the human side of the industry.

Too often, the average person formulates his or her views based on the ill-conceived notion and media stereotyping that mining barons like the Palmers, the Forrests and the Hancocks, predominate throughout the industry.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

While we celebrate the high-profile success stories, the industry today, just as it has historically since its foundation in the 1800s, relies overwhelmingly on the dedication of tens of thousands of ordinary people for its ongoing success and resilience.

The mining tax ads were a huge hit over east, mainly because they made many people think differently about mining for the first time.

But let’s for a few moments contrast the traditional stereotyping of mining versus that of say, the forestry industry. The eastern Australian forestry industry a decade or so ago was facing the same sort of public relations backlash as is typical with the mining industry.

Environmentalists were busy chaining themselves to trees, and polite dinner party conversation in comfortable suburbs like Balmain in Sydney and Toorak in Melbourne, had the chardonnay sippers of the rustbelt chattering classes muttering about the environmental devastation being wrought.

Nevertheless, public opinion began to change. What turned things around so effectively was nightly TV footage showing the human face of the industry: ordinary workers, with children, wives, mouths to feed, mortgages and bills to pay.

So in order to get noticed, the resource industry can learn a valuable lesson, by presenting the human face of our business as much as we can.

Something that we’ve never really done well in the past.

Wendt is a columnist at RESOURCESTOCKS magazine and is the founding director of MineLife.