Fortescue Metals chief executive Dino Otranto has slammed the powerful Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA, while backing his company’s position on diesel tax rebates.
Fortescue Metals chief executive Dino Otranto has slammed the powerful Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA, while backing his company’s position on diesel tax rebates.
Mr Otranto strongly defended his company’s position, which places it against its iron ore industry peers and the industry group of which it is a member, while speaking at The Australian Financial Review’s Mining Summit in Perth today.
That came after CME chief executive Aaron Morey appeared on an episode of ABC’s Four Corners on Monday of this week, defending BHP’s lack of progress on the electrification of its mining fleet.
BHP was not interviewed as part of the program, which was based off documents obtained by the ABC and The Guardian.
The CME and Fortescue are at loggerheads over their positions on the matter, with the latter now accusing the former of taking BHP’s side in the diesel vs electric debate.
In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Otranto told the summit that he did get “hot under the collar” and confirmed he wrote to the CME following the episode’s airing seeking clarity.
“Let me use a footy analogy,” he said, when asked about CME’s position.
“My three boys play footy, the second one ain’t too good, right?
“But we still pay fees to the club. And my expectation is that my kid actually gets a bit of game time. That’s what happens.
“For me – and this is the second time this has actually happened – the peak industry body here in WA, I don’t think, adequately consulted.”
Mr Otranto said it was “weird” to see the industry group go into bat for a single member.
“There was no consultation on that view, and I thought, to be honest, it was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen in my life, that somebody would come out, be a de facto spokesperson, and the company didn’t need to turn up,” he said.
“Don’t you think it’s odd?”
Business News understands that tension was evident in a frosty reception between Fortescue and CME leaders at an industry event in Perth last night.
The CME declined to comment.
Fortescue has outpaced its iron ore peers on the fleet electrification front and is working towards a target of real zero emissions from its Pilbara mines by 2030.
Led by Andrew Forrest, the miner has labelled the credits a disincentive to decarbonisation over several years, but ramped up its rhetoric this year.
In April Fortescue launched a national campaign to push for a $50 million cap on diesel taxes ahead of May’s Federal Budget, including television and radio spots.
Mr Otranto downplayed the scale of the campaign.
“In terms of relative media campaigns and support for media outlets, it’s ... a drop in the ocean, to be honest,” he said.
“Running a few TV ads. It’s been blown up as this ‘major propaganda campaign’.”
In contrast with Fortescue’s position, BHP Iron Ore boss Tim Day told the forum earlier in the day that there were major barriers to a widespread rollout of electric haulage on its minesites.
“You’ve actually got to have the skills, you have to redesign entire operations to allow for it, having the charging units, the energy density in the batteries, and it has to be safe for everybody,” he said.
“These are big machines, big trucks that we’re trying to run on batteries, and we’ve got a couple of them running around the Pilbara now, but we’re trying to work out how to deploy them as fast as we can.”
Mr Day conceded BHP thought it would be off diesel quicker and confirmed its rollout of a replacement was in the works.
Mr Day said BHP was “still ahead” of what it committed when it came to decarbonisation.
