Unfortunately the demise of the coal mining industry during the 1980′s resulted in massive redundancy for many, who having not really experienced or trained in any other profession found themselves jobless, in financial struggle, and forced to re-train in another profession and start again from scratch. However after 2 decades of decay and ruin of previous coal mining operations many previous colliery sites and the railway lines connecting them have now taken on a new lease of life. With funding from local government these previously purely industrial areas have now been re-vamped into wonderful countryside trails and country parks.

This is most prominent in the area where I now live close to the border of North-East Derbyshire and West Nottinghamshire. Having lived in or close to this area most of my life I remember how about 30 years ago you couldn’t travel more than a few miles in any direction without coming across another working colliery, fortunately for the countryside lover you now cannot travel more than a few miles without happening upon another country park or countryside trail.

My heart goes out to all those men and their families who found themselves in difficult times when the pits were closed. Many of my school friends chose the colliery as a career when leaving school – a ‘job for life’ they were promised – only to find themselves unemployed only a few years later. Fortunately for me I had no desire to work down the pit and chose a different career path – I went into agriculture initially and then progressed into horticulture – so when many of my old friends found themselves without a job I was still working, albeit less pay but at least I was still in work, so for this reason I am pleased that I chose the path I did, but I sympathise deeply with those who ended up having to start again.

The coal-mining industry no doubt left behind its legacy with many houses being built around the colliery to provide homes for miners and their families, and even today many local towns and villages still show signs of the previous booming industry that was responsible for their birth in the first place. Rows and rows of terraced houses still stand although many have since been demolished and sometimes modern residences, other industrial units, or retail and leisure parks have sprung up on land previously occupied by the homes of colliery staff and their families. Miners welfare and working men’s clubs often still stand in legacy to their members previous professional status. Gone are the days of a smoke filled sky from fires burning the local coal to keep families warm as most of the houses that were once called ‘home’ by mining families if still standing have been modernised to use alternative fuels such as gas or electricity, in almost all cases extensions have been added to the rear of these properties, attached outbuildings or a bedroom converted to create a modern indoor bathroom – no more going outside to an outbuilding to go to the toilet and no more tin baths in front of the fire. We get it much easier these days, lucky us! I myself now live with my family in one of these ex-pit houses with not one but three locations where once stood a pit-top with all the trimmings all within just one mile from my front door; three separate collieries less than a mile away, wow! Such is the legacy of coal mining.

Please forgive my ramblings; I am drifting away from my chosen aim and getting nostalgic so let me try and get back on track.

My aim is to open the eyes of people to what great choice of countryside destinations are now on their own doorstep, thanks to a previous but now defunct local industry.

Within a mile of home for example we have two country parks and one industrial estate located on once pit-tops. The two country parks are connected by countryside trails that eventually lead off and link to other country parks several miles away, all of which used to be a colliery, and all linked by an amazing network of countryside trails – prior rail lines which once saw the passage of regular freight trains rather than the modern day passage of horse riders, cyclists, and of course walkers.

For example if we desire we can now ride our horse, cycle or walk from Sutton-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire to Grassmoor, near Chesterfield in Derbyshire and back again without having to pass down a road, just occasionally cross one. The local country park and trail network allows us to leisurely stroll or ride between Mansfield Woodhouse (Notts), Pleasley (Notts and Derbys), Shirebrook (Derbys), Teversal (Notts), Rowthorne (Derbys), Skegby and Stanton Hill (Notts), Sutton-in-Ashfield (Notts), Huthwaite (Notts), Tibshelf (Derbys), Newton and Blackwell (Derbys), Morton (Derbys), Pilsley (Derbys)*, Holmewood and Williamthorpe (Derbys), North Wingfield (Derbys), Grassmoor (Derbys), South Normanton (Derbys), and New Houghton (Derbys) without passing along a road for more than a few metres. I’m sure there’s more but can’t think of them all at the moment.

Australia is blessed with a large quantity of natural resources. Mining these Australian owned resources is a very profitable business for big multinational mining conglomerates, so the Australian Government last week put a Super Profits Resource Tax on the mining industry.

BHP Billerton and Rio Tinto in turn have been putting the squeeze on their customers. China and India are now subject to spot prices for Australian iron ore instead of contract prices for the raw material. China desperately needs high grade iron-ore for their massive building projects.

The mining conglomerates are mining much of this high grade iron ore from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, South Australia and western Queensland. The distances the ore has to travel from these mine sites to get to a port for loading onto ships is sometimes hundred’s of kilometres, and requires a lot of rail and road infrastructure.

The mining companies themselves aren’t putting in all this new infrastructure, but are expecting the respective state governments to put some of it in place. This in turn is paid for by the Tax Payers in that state.

So basically, Australian Tax Payers are subsidising these multinational mining companies to rip our nationally owned finite resources out of the ground to provide the Mining company CEO’s and their shareholders with huge profits.

Up until this Labour Government’s recent line drawn in the sand two weeks ago, Australia acquiesced to these conditions but we finally have a Federal Government who has decided we want fairer compensation for all Australian Tax Payers.

So the argument is erupting in the Australian media now between the Federal Government, state Governments and mining Companies who are all vying for public opinion is massive.

The real winners from this scrap will be the media owners and their shareholders who must be rubbing their hands with glee at this profitable windfall. This dispute is seriously benefiting advertising agencies and media owners as big advertising campaigns are being rolled out to gain the public’s approval or disapproval just before a Federal election sometime this year.

There is big money and big stakes involved for both these combatants. In the meantime, some of the rhetoric being served up by some of the CEO’s of these multinational companies is so obviously more self-interest but cloaked in the guise of Australia’s national interest that it is obscuring reality.

On the other hand, the Government can’t afford to lose this battle or they lose credibility. So statistics and years of reports are finally being tabled in Parliament supporting the Governments stance for this super profit resource mining tax.

The Federal Government Opposition leader is siding with the multinational mining companies because they need the financial backing with which to fight the looming federal election. After the last election in 2007, the Liberal party were so soundly beaten by the Labour Government they haven’t as yet refilled their war chest with enough financial backing to go into another election in the near future

So, the media fight escalates between the multinational mining companies and the federal Government as viewers and readers alike bear witness to more blues, bruises, wins and stings in the saga of one of the biggest financial decisions this century in Australia.

If you are one of the shareholders of one of these multinational mining companies, it could be a good idea to attend the next AGM and start asking some of these overpaid CEO’s some uncomfortable questions about their preferred settlement policy. One way or another, this super profit resource tax will be put on the mining industry simply because it is a fairer tax for everyone and that includes the mining industry overall.

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