Australian Coal Industry – Where F*ck You is More Than a Policy (language caution)

Australia’s coal industry has launched a robust campaign to promote the benefits derived from coal for Australians. Australians for Coal emphasizes that coal is essential to the economic well-being of the country and all its citizens.

Over the next four years, Australia’s coal industry will pay $18.3 billion to state governments. This will build hospitals, schools and roads. On top of those payments to state governments, the coal industry will contribute more than $10 billion in tax to the Federal Government. These taxes and royalties are at risk from attempts by powerful groups to shut the coal industry down. If you are concerned about this loss of government income, please support the Australian coal industry.

Not to be outdone, the senior executives of a fictitious Australian coal company go to great length to announce their company’s new policy of F*ck You.

Australian Coal Industry – Where F*ck You is More Than a Policy

Excerpts from the accompanying video: As a company, we have an absolute commitment to the principle of action on climate change. We’re very proud of our values. But as one of the major contributors to CO2 emissions and as we begin to contend with the real world effects of climate change, we have to prepare ourselves for the next step in addressing our corporate responsibilities in this area.

I’m proud to announce the company’s new policy of F*ck You.  F*ck You is more than a policy. It’s a philosophy where we’re able to straddle the dichotomy between what we know is true and how we can benefit by ignoring that truth.

Australians for Coal. What is your investment dollar doing?
Published on Feb 28, 2014
Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)
Standard YouTube Licence

F*ck you means we can be passionate about our values, but not act on them. F*ck You takes what would be our present-day financial burden away from us and transforms it into a chronic, economic, social, cultural and political crisis for future generations. The genius of this however is that we have transferred it away from us. It ensures solid returns to our shareholders by killing their grandchildren.

While the steps on the surface seem in opposition to our self-interest, the reality is however that they are actually in opposition to our self interest. Se we recognize what we call ‘The Gap”. “The Gap” is the problem of simultaneously holding two contradictory positions. On one hand, to act on our responsibility to humanity, but on the other hand, to deliver on our commitment to superior value for our shareholders. We needed to take a leap of faith, an intuitive step outside the limitations of a science-based argument.

With this policy, we delay action and leverage the gap and are able to maintain our role as a global leader in destroying the planet. Ultimately this is a reflection of the values of our shareholders. Everyday Australians have chosen to invest $20 billion dollars into the company but we prefer to think of it as 20 billion f*ck yous to the Australians of tomorrow.

There will come a day when my moral choices will no longer be beholden to the shareholders and a wave of profound regret and a sorrow will engulf me as I realize with painful clarity the enormity of the damage I have perpetrated upon humanity. Even if I plead, for the sake of my daughter’s grandchildren, with whoever has succeeded my role in the company to stop putting CO2 in the air, he or she can simply turn to me and respond with…f*ck you.

And that legacy really does make me very proud.