It probably should have been our Prime Minister, or perhaps even more on the key women leading the strong reaction to Alan Jones’ “destroying the joint” comments. It could have been one of our Paralympic champions in the pool.
There were plenty of Australian women with stories that could have been picked up by the world’s media this week, but only one such woman whose story went truly viral.
That woman was Gina Rinehart. She generated international headlines not because of a significant business story or transaction she was involved in, but rather because of what she had to say at the Sydney Mining Club earlier this week (and later uploaded to YouTube), and in her regular column within the pages of the Australian Resources and Investment magazine.
What could possibly cause such a stir? Well on Youtube there was this:
“Australia is becoming too expensive and too uncompetitive to do export-oriented business … Africans want to work, and its workers are willing to work for less than $2 per day. Such statistics make me worry for this country’s future.”
And in the September edition of ARIM there was this:
“There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire. If you’re jealous of those with more money don’t just sit there and complain, do something to make more money yourself. Spend less time drinking, smoking and socializing and more time working.”
Rinehart’s latest comments were covered in the US and the UK, by Reuters, the New York Daily News, National Wide News, ABC News and The Huffington Post. They’ve also been picked up by thousands of bloggers, hundreds of thousands of social media users, as well as a source for numerous memes that have gone viral. The Atlantic Wire awarded Rinehart the dubious title of “World’s Biggest Troll”.
As The Monthly recently reported, it seems Rinehart believes she should get “respect, recognition and influence” for her contribution to the Australian economy.
Rinehart’s not doing much to help the rest of us believe that should be the case.