Mining magnate Gina Rinehart is calling for Australia to follow the US lead by embarking on Donald Trump-style leadership to cut government largesse while boosting defence spending and energy security, as the country heads to the polls this weekend.
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A vocal Trump supporter who attended the US president’s inauguration party in Mar-a-Lago in January, Rinehart said that rather than “whine” about Trump and his policies, Australia could benefit from a similar approach.
“Australia must reduce its costs, cut government wastage and the expense of government tape, regulations, compliance, licences …,” Rinehart said.
Rinehart is Australia’s richest person with a net worth Forbes puts at US$30 billion. Her flagship mining company, Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd, is among the biggest donors to opposition leader Peter Dutton’s Liberal Party, more than tripling donations in the 2024 financial year to A$500,000 (US$320,000), according to Australian Electoral Commission data.
Voter concerns over the global fallout from Trump’s stop-start tariffs and volatile diplomacy appear to have hurt the prospects of Dutton’s conservative coalition ahead of the May 3 vote, with polls in the final stretch of the campaign showing the ruling centre-left Labor Party of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese easing ahead.
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The trend is similar to that seen in Canada this week where Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals staged a major political comeback, fuelled by a backlash against Trump.