For just about everyone involved or with an interest in the possibility of mining at Arkaroola, Premier Rann’s announcement last Friday week came as quite a surprise. No more so than for the board of Marathon Resources which include former Labor Senator and lobbyist, Chris Schacht, part of what the company describes as ‘a small board of extremely knowledgeable and highly regarded resource industry professionals, who are experienced in bringing major projects to fruition’.
Kryztoff also understands well connected Labor party lobbyists for Marathon had been hard at work and too were looking to enjoy the benefits of an announcement that stated the project would proceed.
Marathon has purportedly invested $15m in prospecting for uranium at Mt Gee, within Arkaroola and after failing to properly dispose of some waste last year had from October 2010 an exploration licence that ran for just 16 months, a licence that ends early next year. But to go forward, it needed a new licence and final Government approval for mining in the sensitive heritage and tourist area.
In March, Marathon raised over $5m at $0.50 after its shares had surged around 50% from those levels in the preceeding few weeks after the company’s acceptance of the aforementioned licence renewal was announced to the exchange. Both Schacht and Chairman Peter Williams (another close to the Labor Government) also took up their entitlements at that time. After that it was one way traffic down for the Marathon share price to around 15c until speculation that a positive announcement on future mining was imminent saw its shares double in price in the days leading up to Rann’s bombshell. (Thus, this may be regarded as one of those very few market plunges that went awry – perhaps a further clue to the surprise inherent in Rann’s announcement.)
Confronted with diabilical polls and the stench of the MacPherson Report only starting to grow, especially in the hands of his new Minister for Local Government, Russell Wortley, Rann unilaterally decided he needed some political points badly to reignite his popularity with the SA public. He had of course at that time stated that he was no longer available for comment to the media other than on weekends and generally was rarely seen mingling with the public even at events for which his ministerial duties would normally require him.
The Arkaroola bombshell, with Rann flanked in situ for cover with his Environment Minister, Paul Caica and Mines Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, did not go down well with Labor party warloads who had seen approving mining Arkaroola as yet another opportunity to reward party loyalists. (No doubt investors, including Schacht and Williams, who parted with the $5m five months ago aren’t exactly seeing the funny side of this either.) With that act of self determination complete, so the talks to arrange the factionally suitable succession team went into overdrive. With Weatherill clearly ahead in the perceptions of the public, the next dream team was settled across factional lines.
Although Rann had intended to see his time through to exceeding the terms as premier of both Don Dunstan and John Bannon (a moment that would arise early next year), the combination of damage to the brand and breach of party hack loyalties was too much and in his weakened poltical state the faction bosses, in a ceremony that has strong parallels with the political knifing of Kevin Rudd, advised him late on Friday that his time was up.
Whether they wished or intended the announcement to go public as quickly as it did is unclear but clearly many in the party were more than happy to start their own dance on his political grave.
With the first signs of something going on being reported mid week in Indaily, it seems amazing that Rann did not see this moment coming.
While media speculation that the Labor Government will ‘compensate’ Marathon for the loss of its mining opportunities has spread (with some talk being that the amount will be as much as $30m), independent members of the upper house, smelling a rat, are quickly moving to close that loop hole when the Arkaroola legislation reaches their chamber. Marathon shareholders now wait shellshocked with their share price back to 15c.
Rann has managed to buy time today saying he will step down after completing ‘certain projects’, ironically another one involving mining – the big daddy of them all – the deal with BHP Billiton about Roxby Downs. But the realities are that his time as premier is up and Labor party Godfathers do not think it important that the parliament or the public or even a leader of 16 years determine these matters any more.
A Rann by-election is probably not a big worry for the Government but the imminent retirement from politcs of Kevin Foley is another matter. What with already being two down in the upper house, after the suspension from the party of Bernie Finnigan and the retirement of Paul Holloway, a hot pototo in the McPherson report about to get even hotter tomorrow and now an angry leader, the Labor party can only thank their lucky stars that the Liberals rolled over on Adelaide Oval in case that too got very messy in the next six weeks.
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