SHOVE IT, GINA
When Gina Rinehart says Australia is becoming too expensive, don’t think for one second she’s talking about it becoming too expensive for you.
She means it’s too expensive for her to make the same kind of massive profits she’s used to making. In fact, she said only last week that she wants poor people to take a wage cut in order for her to remain a squillionaire.
For all of her impressive-sounding quotations from the World Economic Forum stating that we’re in decline, she’s actually talking a load of rubbish. The leading minerals industry advisors, Behre Dolbeare, have ranked Australia as the best place to invest in mining for the third year running.
Even with the mining tax and the price on carbon, we’re number one in the world. Still. It’s highly unlikely that she and her other mining buddies don’t know that.
Where’s this fabled land that’s a better place for mining than Australia? Mars?
The ‘do what I demand or I’ll leave you all in ruin’ threat is reprehensible. It’s the kind of talk you’d imagine coming from a medieval feudal lord.
I suspect Gina has a wardrobe full of ermine capes and when she’s home alone, has a couple of glasses of vino, throws one on and prances around in front a mirror singing “I’m the king of the castle and you’re a dirty rascal”.
I’m just waiting for her to demand the federal government makes it illegal for common people to wear purple and own land.
The bottom line is Gina wants us to tighten our belts so she doesn’t have to.
She sees herself as some sort of ruler, more powerful than the government and more entitled to decide the future of our country than the politicians we elected.
Perhaps we should be tithing our wheat to her as well, dancing around maypoles in her open cut mines and naming a feast day in her honour.
The other option is we stand up to her threats and tell her to shove it. After all, we’re the ones who own the wealth she’s digging up, not her.
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*Corinne Grant is a stand-up comedian, MC, presenter, writer and broadcaster and has performed both nationally and internationally. In addition to her years on Rove Live and The Glasshouse, she has appeared on everything from Spicks and Specks to Dancing With The Stars to Good News Week. She has co-hosted successful national radio shows, performed countless solo live shows and appeared everywhere from the Sydney Opera House to the Kalgoorlie Arts Centre. Corinne’s first book, Lessons In Letting Go: Confessions of a Hoarder (Allen and Unwin) was released in September 2010 and went into reprint just months after its release.
73 Responses to this article
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Gai kunstelj September 5, 2012
Dear Ms Rinehardt,Could you please compensate me with some gold coins for the ten minutes of my life lost forever listening to your self indulgent waffle.Your indebted servant.
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anne September 5, 2012
Yeah! Shove it Gina.
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Matt September 5, 2012
I don’t really pay much attention to what she says. She owns a business and is entitled to comment on issues effecting it, just as we all are.
I don’t understand why she riles people including our Treasurer so much. If she said she wanted to build a Titanic Mk2 or open a Gina Rinehart theme park now that would be interesting to read.
But Gina doesn’t like Taxes?….meh.-
Amacamchumps Sarah September 5, 2012
@Matt – I suppose we pay a lot of attention to her because while business owners do like to whine, her whine can often feel like it’s about to impinge on our democratic way of life. You know – the business too big to fail that governments bend backwards to accommodate the one big guy rather than the nation of voters.
Perhaps we’re all a little sick of the big guy getting so damn big. “Imagine a ladder, in which each rung represents a million dollars of wealth. On this ladder, the typical Australian household is halfway to the first rung. Someone in the top 10 per cent is at least 1½ rungs up. A household in the top 1 per cent is at least 5 rungs up. Gina Rinehart is 5½ kilometres off the ground.”
She’s allowed to get that rich of our shared resources, and still feels entitled to whine about this crap? C’mon, shove it Gina.
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Matt September 5, 2012
But don’t you think that’s paranoia?
Let me state I don’t agree with what she says (and certainly not how she says it), but I must also add that I don’t care what she says either.
So she’s rich, that doesn’t bother me. It’s no reason to love or hate anyone because they have money.
Does she have undue influence? Maybe she does but so does someone like Cate Blanchett when she bangs on about the need for a carbon tax whilst driving around in her free Audi V8 and jet-setting all over the globe. -
Freya September 5, 2012
Good reply Sarah! I think Matt must be astroturfing – the comparison between GR and Blanchet is laughable – seriously?!
Matt and GR might like to believe that we envy her wealth, but frankly, we dislike her attempts to abuse the power it gives her to influence public debate for her own gains. There are many wealthy people I find admirable like Bill Gates, or just entertaining, like Clive Palmer. But GR is neither. How stupid does she think we are?
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debbiep September 5, 2012
So, is Ms Rinehart hinting or suggesting Australia should become a 3rd world country?
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Bek September 5, 2012
Corinne you’re a dead set legend! Another article with which I completely agree and gave me a good chuckle in the process. Keep it up!
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Rosie September 5, 2012
Not sure why she has set herself up as an advisor to us all. It would be different is we all respected her. Now if she was announcing that she was contributing 10 billion towards a National Disability Scheme – then I would listen.
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Jules September 5, 2012
What self serving nonsense. We need diverse industries in Australia that don’t require the raping and pillaging of our natural resources. Anyone with some basic economic education knows that competing with low wage countries is not sustainable. We can’t, therefore, we need to provide a differential, whether it be through quality, innovation, knowledge and expertise. Watching this video was like watching a greedy landlord preach to the masses about what they want in order to become richer. She irks me because she sits on such massive wealth and gets heard and then you have true Aussie treasures like Moira Kelly who are really making such a wonderful difference to people’s lives who deserve more attention. Am I jealous she is wealthy, no, as long as we have enough to get by each day who needs such excessive wealth. If anything she serves as a barometer for exactly how I would not like to spend my short time on this earth.
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Hingehead September 5, 2012
Jiminy – our exports are too expensive because the dollar is high because in a sea of flailing economies ours has been stable – and mining has had a huge impact on that. Stop mining and the dollar will drop and then our exports will compete – come on Gina, do it for us, seeing how you’re so concerned about Austalia.
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Loz September 5, 2012
I think you should cut her some slack Corinne. Seems Gina can’t even afford matching earrings for her diamond and pearl necklace. My heart bleeds.
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moorie September 5, 2012
I am sorry Corrine but for her to tighten her belt would not be a possiblity, they don’t make belts that biggg!!!!
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Yann September 5, 2012
Gina should stop taking her medication, the side effects are unbelievable! Her bile is increasing and no amount of make up can disguise her inner beauty!!! It must be hard to be Gina Rinehart, Tony should start praying for her. YUK!
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Helen September 5, 2012
An investment advisor called… Behre Dolbeare???? I thought that had to be too good to be true – googled it – OMG it’s true!
So even the bearish Dolbeares weren’t bearish enough for Gina… Oh LOL you have made my day Corinne!
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Michelle September 5, 2012
Dear Gina,
Your proctologist called, they found your head! -
Cranky Aunty September 5, 2012
I think Gina needs an old-fashioned Aussie Best Mate. Someone who, when she starts spouting this crap, will tell her to pull her head in.
To be serious, though, the worrying part about this is that Gina’s money makes her voice louder than most, and many of our leaders have been programmed to pay more attention to business people like her, instead of to their own citizens.
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HillbillySkeleton September 5, 2012
The reason we have to take what Gina Rinehart says seriously is that she has the ear of Tony Abbott and the Coalition. So, if the full horror of an Abbott government is visited upon the nation guess who’ll want her quid pro quo? And guess who’ll be more than happy to oblige her? Just as that photo of Tony Abbott fawning over Gina in Perth at a Mining Dinner will forever be seared on my mind. As it reminds me of exactly the reason we must take what she says seriously.
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Matt September 5, 2012
I saw Julia fawning all over Barack Obama. Are we about to become the 51st State of the USA? By your reasoning, yes…..yes we are.
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HillbillySkeleton September 5, 2012
Matt. Tony Abbott fanboi much?
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Matt September 6, 2012
My leanings are more to the right. Are we going to have a mature exchange of opinion or attack me personally?
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Freya September 5, 2012
Matt, I call it ! – you’re turfing!
The PM was not “fawning” – unless you would like to apply that offensive sexist framing to Howard “fawning” over Bush.
Drop the sexism please – not acceptable! #destroythejoint-
Matt September 6, 2012
Drop the sexism? Are you for real?
So it’s ok to say Abbott was fawning over Rinehart? But not ok to say Gillard was fawning over Obama? Ok thanks for setting me straight on the rules of sexism. #doublestandards-
freya September 6, 2012
Hello? who said anyone was fawning over anyone? Not me!
Oh, I had a look – it was Hillbilly – I see the communication problem!
I still don’t agree that Gillard was fawning over Obama – she was just doing her job. That was another nauseating sexist media beatup.
Never seen Abbott and GR together – thankfully!
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Janet Georgouras September 5, 2012
What a whinger!! How much is enough Gina? You sound like your complaining about your rather substantial share of food at the smorgasbord. Stuffing yourself silly isn’t a good look, you know.
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Lynchpin September 5, 2012
Great work Corinne. If Rinehart doesn’t like the place, I say to her “F#!* Off We’re Full!”
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Bev September 5, 2012
Definitely shove it, Gina. All hail, Corinne – well put.
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DogMaa September 5, 2012
Ms Grant, I bow to your prose.
Gina you;ve just told the world that your ripping off the South African people…..how much do you sell their minerals for? How much profit do you make from their minerals?
Sad woman
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sue bell September 5, 2012
So, what she is really saying is, give us miners the right to own the northern half of Australia NT, WA, QLD, to pay workers only $2.00 per hour, to get rid of any work conditions, safety regs etc., to not pay taxes and to be left alone to exploit the country as they see fit.
Why not? we are a generous people and they are so hard done by. We should lend them a hand to establish their mining bliss. -
Skeet September 5, 2012
“After all, we’re the ones who own the wealth she’s digging up, not her.”
And that is where the argument stops.
If Ms Gina is not happy with the deal she gets from the owners of that mineral wealth – the Australian people, via the government of the day – then she is free to sell off her mining rights.
Bet she won’t.
She is already getting a fantastic deal, and knows it. Clearly her motivation now is just pathological greed and power lust.
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Jenny September 5, 2012
This is a cut-throat woman who expects to get her own way over everything. You only have to look at how she treats members of her own family who don’t agree with her to see what her personality is like. She is sitting on a mountain of money and wants to reduce the amount she puts into her employees pockets as well as the country from which she is making all this money. Talk about a bleeding heart! Shove it and piss off Gina!
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Margot September 5, 2012
So Gina R likes the idea of workers paid only $2 per day. What next, Gina? Slavery?
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Janet Georgouras September 5, 2012
Gina also forgot to mention the added benefit of mining in Africa, that of being able to shoot mineworkers if they give you trouble. Good on you Corinne for showing this person as she is- greedy and selfish. P-off Gina and give us a Bill and Melinda Gates instead?
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Robyn September 5, 2012
Corinne, you’ve done it again!
Very nice!
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Tracie September 5, 2012
“we are a high wage country competing against low wage ones”…Earth to Gina….we dont live in TENTS and frikken shanty towns in Australia YET..but i guess if you get youre way..The rich get richer, the poor get the picture…yeah i agree.. shove it, Gina.
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Benison O'Reilly September 5, 2012
Odious cow. She’s proof that appalling women can match it for awfulness with appalling men.
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soozy September 5, 2012
where is Mez today? – conspicuous in absence
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Michele September 5, 2012
Great article Corinne, I agree with all you’ve written. What a warped view Gina seems to have with money and power the centre of her universe, more important than people, even her kids. No matter how much you accumulate it won’t make you happy Gina.
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jean September 5, 2012
I just adore the irreverent sense of humour here towards Ms Rhineheart
Love it and demonstrates how lucky we are to have such smart and witty people here that see through b.s.
Gina ,i wonder how much that posh accent cost??
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janet September 5, 2012
Watching the news tonight!!
Michelle Obama has more class than Gina and is probably smarter and way more fun to socialise with!!
Money doesnt buy personality either sadly
Cant she memorise her speech or write it on her own like the presidents wife??
Dear oh dear me,what a waste of private schooling there!!
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Mrs Woog September 6, 2012
I think the thing that brings a bit of bile to my mouth is the complete lack of humanity Gina has.
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Annie Also September 6, 2012
Thank you for this piece Corinne and thanks to the comments made on here. I have learnt so much just from this one site.
1; The way a right wing person sees someone like Gina (Matt)
2. What her wealth looks like on a ‘ladder’ ( that was a clear shock)
3. ‘Conflict of interest’ re politicians being flown to a wedding in India, then the father of the bride buying a part of Aust.An acorn does not fall far from the tree and Gina proves over and over she is her father’s daughter.
You have to be taught compassion, how others live, the need for generosity and importance of giving. Her education is grossly lacking and even though I blame her parents I put the responsibility squarely back on her own shoulders.Time for her to pay her fair share and make her tax bill 50%. Give it to the Tax Dept and let them distribute it fairly.
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K September 6, 2012
Great stuff Corinne….with the fodder that all these dropkicks like Queen Gina offer up on a daily basis I reckon you will have a full time job just doing pieces for Hoopla!…dear God that passive aggressive voice of hers is enough to bring on a headache!…I lasted 2 minutes into it and couldn’t even bear to listen anymore…..
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Rowdy September 6, 2012
What irks me most is that wages are less than 5% of total costs to companies like Swineharts (1% or less in Africa it seems). So this horrible woman who we all know treats her own family like s#*t has really grated the Australian workers up the wrong way. Get lost GINA! Thanks Corinne for pinning this non-person down.
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Faith September 6, 2012
I made myself listen to try and figure out if there was any substance to the words. Then came reference to the success of mining in West Africa and adding that workers are happy to be paid $2 per hour (or was it under?) and I shut down. Thank goodness there are only a minority of responses here that don’t seem to understand the link between money, media, politics and power.
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Lesley Palma September 6, 2012
Between Corinne’s writing and all the comments it is truly sad to see this woman fast becoming the most disliked person in the country when in fact, she has all the tools at hand to become a great role model for our youngsters. I honestly don’t know what is going on in her head. When she referred to the miners in South Africa who are happy to work for a pittance and insinuated that should be the norm, I was stunned. Was she not watching the vision that came out of South Africa recently where 34 miners were killed as a result of them protesting because they want wage increases? And she thinks that the situation in South Africa is ok? The mind boggles. She needs an introduction to the real world.
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Kerry Cleary September 6, 2012
Gina – SOD OFF ! Move to Cambodia. You could take on where Pol Pot left off. You are still allowed to shoot the workers there too when they protest about poor working conditions. Burma – now there is another option for you… unexplored mineral wealth there and you’re probably richer than anybody who could try to stop you.
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Roz September 6, 2012
Please don’t insult the people of Cambodia or Burma/Myanmar they are lovely and don’t deserve Gina baby to be sent to them. We’ve got her, we’ve got to shame her on her lack of awareness of reality and her bullying of all of us and this blog is a good start.
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Mrs Pops September 6, 2012
Poor Gina has foot and mouth disease. keep up with the crazy talk and more people only see the pointlessness of your immense wealth. Make a positive difference on the world. I agree with the suggestion of paying for the National Disability Scheme as a good start.
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Tracey September 6, 2012
Gina Reinhardt – just shut-up! Hope the Fairfax board can remain firm.
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Leesa September 6, 2012
Like Mrs Woog I find her lack of hummanity mind-boggling. She seems to have no sense of how hard people work for their miminum wage, no sense of the injustice in paying two dollars an hour and no sense of social responsibility.
As I watched insight last night full of families stuggling with their disabled kids I thought ; imagine how much Gina could do for them. Its all just very sad when I get past the anger she invokes.
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Marnie September 6, 2012
Poor Gina, she is one of the most misunderstood women in Australia today and you are all being grossly unfair. She treats us just as if we were her children, keeping the evils of money and riches beyond our grasp so that we can learn that life can be lived quite comfortably without them. If you want something you have to be prepared to work for it, and work bloody hard, just as she does. Nobody understands how difficult it is to sit in the counting house fending of blackbirds all day. She knows how cruel everyone can be when you are wealthy and she is intent on saving us from that inhumanity.
She is well aware that only someone as influential as she is can say what she knows we would love to say ourselves, and she knows that what you are experiencing is a little ‘tall poppy’ syndrome so she ignores these affection little jibes you are having at her expense.
She is a women to be admired, revered and, as our pollies are well aware, to be fawned over. Now don’t you fell the teensiest bit ashamed of yourself Corrine? -
Julie September 6, 2012
@NickBryantOz wrote a great piece this morning for The Monthly on Gina Rinehart’s ‘recondite world’ and quest for respect and gratitude: http://ow.ly/duNAl . For mine, she would be a little more credible if she was more generous and philanthropic a la Gates and Buffet. Instead she seems hell bent on showing the worst traits of entitlement and greed, – even against her own family! and accumulation for accumulation’s sake- at others expense I pity her.
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malcolm September 6, 2012
She listens to no-one but herself
This presentation lacks any media advisor
Sad and pathetic propaganda
Its obvious to see
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jane September 6, 2012
She needp to employ the advisors from the republican party in the us
That might be of help to her image and spin!!
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Carole September 6, 2012
Thanks Corrine & all of you who made me laugh —–Out Loud —–
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Judith Rubbish September 6, 2012
I think it is great that Gina has come out and said these ridiculous things, if she has any credibility with anyone who matters, even they would have to question her loopy ness! Go for it Gina!!!
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Ellen September 6, 2012
Now I understand why her kids dislike her. They’ve known for ages what we’re all just finding out.
I think Gina needs a big reality check. Stick her in the Big Brother house!
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Ella September 6, 2012
What a tiresome woman.
They say that “beauty is only skin deep”, but she’s ugly all the way through.
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Freya September 7, 2012
Ella, I don’t think her appearance has anything to do with it. I just don’t like what she says and the fact that the media gives her oxygen just because she has money. I suspect she gets coverage because she is so controversial too – the more upset we get, the more the media will keep feeding us
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Fliss September 6, 2012
Poor Corinne. A very jejune article. Stick to comedy dear. A serious commentator you’re not.
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maggie September 8, 2012
I delight in reading what you have to say. Keep up the entertaining truth Corinne
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lynda September 9, 2012
Gina……its called “our country” not yours….the wealth in the ground does not belong to you but to every one of us….You were born into this wealth…….most of us have had to work Dam hard to provide for our kids so stop trying to get everything on the cheap!!…I hope your kids win…..and just in case you dont know….Weight Watchers works very well…..because at your current weight you wont be around long to spend your ill gotten gain
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Rhoda September 12, 2012
Way to win friends … She obviously knows how to make money but operates at arm’s length from the country she conducts her business in. She could be an inspirational figure if she chose to apply her business skills to solving global problems – the poverty of the $2 worker in Africa being one of them.
