Abbott appeared on 2GB this morning with Alan Jones, an ally of Forrest who last month described BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto as “bully boys”
 
It comes after Senator Nick Xenophon this week called for an inquiry into the behaviour of the majors.
 
“Well I think we do need an inquiry,” Abbott told Jones.
 
“I’m not in the business of demonising any company because I’m very conscious of the fact that Rio and BHP are Australia’s biggest corporate taxpayers and I want them to continue paying a lot of tax here in Australia and I want them to continue making a lot of profits here in Australia, but certainly, I think we do need to know the facts of what’s going on here, because I am conscious of the claims that are being made by Andrew Forrest and others.”
 
Abbott said the government didn’t want to see any “predator behaviour” by companies.
 
“We don’t want to see irrational behaviour by any businesses, particularly when predator behaviour, when irrational behaviour, may well have a dramatic impact on the economy,” he said.
 
Earlier this week, Forrest stirred up controversy when he wrote an opinion piece for the Daily Telegraph calling on Australians to contact members of parliament to have big miners’ licences to operate reviewed, due to his view that their iron ore production strategy is damaging the country.
 
Abbott said the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission would ensure companies played by the rules.
 
“It is against the rules in Australia for businesses to engage in predator conduct as some people allege is happening here … and we’ll make sure that the rules are enforced,” he said.
 
But the Minerals Council of Australia said while the inquiry would not be an effective use of parliamentary resources, it would “shine a critical light on a number of false claims” made by Forrest.
 
 
 
“It will also expose the folly of calls from Mr Forrest for the Australian government to remove his competitors’ ‘licence to operate’, to re-regulate commodity markets and to establish illegal cartel arrangements,” MCA CEO Brendan Pearson said this afternoon.
 
“A focus on facts rather than rhetoric will enable a rational consideration of the importance of free and open markets and the dangers of interventions in favour of selected producers.”
 
It comes as a mystery website www.ourironore.com emerged this week, representing “a group of concerned individuals, businesses and not-for-profit organisations campaigning for a sustainable future for [the] important mining industry”.
 
MiningNews.net has been unable to confirm Forrest’s involvement, but the website mostly features news articles featuring his views.
 
The website and associated social media accounts ask Australians to sign the petition and “join the campaign”
 
Analysts from Investec noted that the war of words between Forrest and the majors was escalating.
 
“We note BHP’s comments during the BoAML mining conference that ‘any attempt to curtail low-cost supply in open markets only encourages the continuation – or entry – of more costly production’,” analysts wrote in a note this week.
 
“Australia now faces the ugly truth that more costly production was allowed into the market during the last decade and that this very production has contributed in a meaningful way to the current oversupply situation.
 
“In our view the blame lies with all market participants – not just with Rio Tinto and BHP.”