Miners killed Brendon Grylls and Dutton never said a word. (Dutton since WA election says business should stick to knitting when he doesn't agree with them)
Outgoing WA Nationals leader Brendon Grylls knew he was in for an almighty fight when he made a bold push to slap BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto with a tax hike that would cost the mining giants about $3 billion a year.
Grylls expected political bruises. But he never expected to lose his seat.The stunning downfall of Western Australia's best retail politician – the biggest scalp of Labor's crushing defeat of the Liberal government – highlights how effective a six-month, anti-mining tax campaign waged by the miners really turned out to be.
Grylls wanted to lift the mining levy from 25¢ per tonne to $5 per tonne. And initially he found support from an electorate cynical about big business and agreeable to companies paying more tax.
But by polling day on March 11 it became apparent the fear fanned over potential job losses and risk to investment in WA had worked.
