Why are mining electorates so important?
Episode description
Coal mining employs around 50,000 people directly... so why does coal dominate Australian politics?!
It came up again at the weekend’s NSW by-election where Labor got smashed and the Nationals were re-elected. Kosmos Samaras is a former Labor strategist and is a director at the political consultancy firm Redbridge. He provides a fascinating insight into why these electorates hold such massive influence.
There are around 240,000 people employed by the mining industry in Australia. 50,000 in coal... but there’s 250,000 who work in arts and recreation - health care for example employs 1.8m but they don’t seem to be swinging elections as voter block... so what’s going on? The answer lies in a surprising insight into the psyche of rural Australia.
TODAY'S HEADLINES
- Victoria enters first day of lockdown
- Federal government slammed over vaccine rollout
- Court finds young people should be protected from climate crisis
- De belin free to play after prosecutors drop charges
- Japanese doctors warn of Olympic Covid variant
Follow The Briefing
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast
Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAU
Twitter: @TheBriefingAU
YouTube: http://bit.ly/TheBriefingSUBSCRIBE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.