For the Queensland Resources Council to suggest mining creates more jobs in an electorate than there are registered voters in that electorate crosses the line.

Fake news harms democracy.

#auspol #qldpol

While there will be legitimate debate on the best and most effective economic policies, it is important that information is factual. #auspol

The mining industry has a long history of using questionable economic modeling, known as input-output modeling, to exaggerate the number of jobs it’s members create.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics was so concerned about the misuse of these ‘multipliers’ it stopped publishing them, saying:

""Their inherent shortcomings make them inappropriate for economic impact analysis. These shortcomings mean that (input-output) multipliers are likely to significantly overstate the impacts of projects or events.”

We have seen here in Australia and overseas the harm that fake news does to a functioning democracy. For the QRC to suggest mining creates more jobs in an electorate than there are registered voters in that electorate crosses the line. #auspol