Gillard Regional Estates Plan a sop to Miners,risky investment

Incumbent Prime Minister Julia Gillards regional expansion may seem like reasonable policy to many. Like all other proposals, this one requires serious scrutiny.

 My initial and lasting impression is that the Prime Minister is a tad too close to the Big end of town in the mining industry.Earlier this year she was reported in the Northwest mining belt attacking Unions who were at the time engaged in a campaign for better conditions. Upon her traitorous ascent to the Prime Ministership, her first consultation was with the miners...well...not all miners, but with the big end of town..Rio and BHP Billiton, with little guys such as Fortescue and a gaggle of other miners struggling and unconsulted.Its a fair bet that "independent" MiningSuperTax implementation team member Marius Kloppers will do what is right for Rio (his old charge) .. but the process is very secretive with all other miners aside from Xstrata,BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto shut out of the process.

  So to Gillards regional housing policy, which makes perfect sense for miners. They get workers to pay the cost of housing rather than face the expense of providing or subsidising housing themselves.Workers and private investors should be wary of investing in mining driven towns. The world is littered with mining ghost towns, and your equity invested in premium priced slick marketed property may be worthless in 30years as the mine reaches its use by date.Sooner, if China suddenly decide that they no longer need to pay the generous premiums they do for ores and fossil fuels. This policy is reminiscent of government releases of outer urban estates for housing without social amenities or work availability and the social and personal economic mischief those policies have caused. We know many who are or have been homeless after "investing" in these high risk low investment value properties financed by virtual loan sharks.