Research chief Constable to lead Minerals Council of Australia
The Minerals Council of Australia has appointed former senior bureaucrat Tania Constable as chief executive.
The Minerals Council of Australia has appointed Tania Constable, a former senior bureaucrat now heading a carbon-capture research group backed by big resources companies, as its chief executive.
The appointment comes after the group’s biggest member, BHP, forced former MCA chief Brendan Pearson out last year over his strong lobbying for coal-fired power in Australia.
Yesterday, BHP Minerals Australia chief Mike Henry congratulated Ms Constable on the appointment.
“We look forward to working with her to promote the important contribution the resources industry makes to local communities and the Australian economy,” Mr Henry said.
Mr Pearson’s exit came just days after BHP pledged to review climate policies of the industry groups it belonged to in response to a push from shareholder activist the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.
Three months later, the mining giant publicly called on the MCA to tone down its support for coal and step up its support for emissions reduction.
Since Mr Pearson left in September, his former deputy David Byers has been acting chief executive. Mr Byers has overseen a tweaking of MCA climate policy, including an official update last month, that has appeased BHP and led it to back off from threats to review its membership.
Yesterday, Rio Tinto iron ore chief Chris Salisbury also welcomed the appointment.
“We look forward to working with Ms Constable in advocating for Australia’s world-leading resources sector, ensuring our industry continues to play a fundamental role in the nation’s development,” he said.
Ms Constable is chief executive of the Co-operative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies, or CO2CRC, which runs a $100 million gas storage demonstration plant in Victoria’s Otway region, near Warrnambool.
She has previously worked as a chief adviser to federal Treasury and ran the resources division at the Industry Department.
Her start date was not announced.
“The MCA is pleased to have attracted such a high-calibre leader, ” MCA chairwoman Vanessa Guthrie said.
“Ms Constable is very well placed to lead the MCA, given her deep knowledge of Australia’s resources industry, her experience in leading a membership-based organisation and in leadership roles in the Australian public service, her expertise in rigorous and high-quality policy development and her commitment to driving advocacy with stakeholders in government and the wider community.”
Earlier this month, BHP completed its review of climate-change policies of lobby groups it belongs to.
It said it would quit the World Coal Association (whose chairman, Glencore’s Mick Buffier, is on the board of CO2CRC) but elected to stay in the US Chamber of Commerce.
This is despite having bigger differences on climate policy with the USCC than with the WCA.