Why "Blood Nose Politics" Resonates So Soundly.

Brendon Grylls is not trying to introduce a new tax at all. Whilst the media refer to it as a "mining tax" the plan is actually the update of a state agreement and comes from the Nationals WA State Conference in Kalgoorlie last year. It was a good motion and set the Nationals on a path to bringing some outdated levels of payment, circa mid 1960s up to 2016 levels.

Yes its a pity we got to the point where this had to be improved. Yes we could have learnt a lot from Norway about managing the income from a mining boom. Regardless it is what it is and the plans start now at their point & place we're in. What it teaches us, some of what it teaches us, is we need to monitor both sides of the ledger. To forward drought proof the plan with both sides of the ledger working for us. Yes a sovereign wealth fund would be great, but we're years too late for that now, that will be something for the emergence stage of the next boom...whenever it is.

Now we have to look at both sides of the ledger and reduce spending where we can, curve borrowing where we can, make every dollar count. The important part to remember is its managing O.P.M. - OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY.

If an income stream is still lagging and pegged to 1960s prices it begs the question why? Next questions is about changing & updating it to a fairer level and that question is why the hell not?

Whether the eastern states will get more income out of it is a mute point when you consider WA will. WA certainly won't get anything if the status quo from when the Beatles were in their early 20s is maintained. I'd rather WA got a small extra fair shot in the arm than mining companies export extra profits paid for by the state of WA.

Its brought forward the term of "blood nose politics", certainly not coined by Brendon Grylls but certainly being used now and its resonating widely for pretty obvious reasons. It means different things to different people but most widely it's meaning not backing down and not giving up on a principal.

Blood nose politics is really what is needed regardless of your political leaning. We need relentless rigour applied to all ideas and much less reliance on compliance to party decrees. In other spheres we'd call it free thinking.

Brendon Grylls is not Edward De Bono, he is a political leader and a political player but the true sense of Blood Nose Politics is on his menu and he plans to serve it up regularly.

Blood nose politics is overdue and whilst some who support it might be critical of it's absence for so long at least the Nationals are the first to place it on the agenda. They're also got history with wanting the back packer tax abolished, GST share for WA made fairer and now bringing a state agreement, a mining lease rental fee up to 2016 standards away from the peppercorn rent of the 1960s.

Whatever the composition of the WA Parliament is post March election, I hope the Blood Nose Politics approach is alive and rigor will bring back some thoroughness and professionalism to decision making we've seen rare in past issues.

Dark times, but there's still good torches of light.

To check for rigour, see if whoever you're listening to is calling it a "mining tax" or "iron ore tax" or actually it what it actually is. A Lease Rental Fee.