I listened to John Williamson a few weeks ago in a pub in Brisbane sing his
"True Blue "and for some reason it made me think of BHP and how it had
forsaken Australia since hitching its wagon to Bulliton. In past times of distress.
such as WW2, BHP was given the privilege of being our defacto Ministry for Industry.
Despite its history, BHP nowadays behaves just like any other multinational in that
its Mission Statement seems to be "Make as much money as you can, regardless"
It is our joint biggest Australian company and the world's biggest miner and many
Australians expect it to make a bigger contribution to Australia's long term future
rather than imperviously deplete our resources primarily for the benefit of foreign
shareholders. We expect better particularly since Australian taxpayers have forgone
$billions/year of the MRRT of which BHP is one of the primary beneficiaries.
Here's the Lyrics of John Williamson's "True Blue":
Hey True Blue,
don't say you've gone
Say you've knocked off for a smoko
And you'll be back la-ater on
Hey True Blue,Hey True Blue
Give it to me straight,
face to face
Are you really disappearing
Just another dying race
Hey True Blue
True Blue, is it me and you
Is it Mum and Dad,
is it a cockatoo
Is it standin' by your mate when he's in a fight
Or just Vegemite
True Blue, I'm asking you
Hey True Blue,
can you bear the load
Will you tie it up with wire
Just to keep the show on the road
Hey True Blue
Hey True Blue, now be Fair Dinkum
Is your heart still there?
If they sell us out like sponge cake,
Do you really care?
Hey True Blue
True Blue, is it me and you
Is it Mum and Dad,
is it a cockatoo
Is it standin' by your mate when she's in a fight
Or just Vegemite
True Blue, I'm asking you...
True Blue, is it me and you
Is it Mum and Dad,
is it a cockatoo
Is it standin' by your mate when he's in a fight
Or she'll be right True Blue,
True Blue
