DISCLAIMER: Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting makes deal with IA

In the interests of full disclosure, the administration of Independent Australia feels obliged to inform the public that earlier this year it entered into a financial transaction with corporate mining interests, specifically, Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd.

Many of you may be aware of Hancock Prospecting as the highly competent extractor of vast amounts of the Australian people’s sovereign mineral wealth, primarily for the benefit of two of those people. It was established by lucky iron ore deposit finder and dabbler in Indigenous affairs, Lang Hancock.

Upon his death, the company was inherited by his beloved daughter, Gina Rinehart, who successfully continued the family business of creating very large holes in remote parts of Australia.

Independent Australia was, in fact, the recipient of a $330 (GST inclusive) payment from Hancock Prospecting, which was accepted by this publication as payment for the corporate use of a digital image featuring the proprietor with her friends.

It should be noted that the initial enquiry from Hancock Prospecting for the purchase of the image came as a source of some surprise to this publication, verging on confoundment.

Firstly, because as a publisher of some mild criticisms of the practices and public pronouncements of Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd and its proprietor, we had become accustomed to dealing with the company through legal intermediaries, if at all. To be contacted directly, as we were in March, by one of Mrs Rinehart’s personal staff was, therefore, unprecedented.

Even more surprising was the fact that Hancock Prospecting was seeking to purchase an image we had presented in a rather pointed article about Mrs Rinehart herself: Gina Rinehart and Peter Dutton prepare for Trumpian "Golden Shower" down under'.

The Hancock Prospecting official advised that the image would be placed on the office wall.

The purchase request from Hancock Prospecting

Perhaps, given the nature of the image transacted in this discussion here, the recent Archibald Prize portrait entry of Mrs Rinehart may also someday be found hanging nearby.

As for whether the high-quality image prepared by one of our professional staff was itself flattering to the lady in question, we dare not cast a judgment, but merely present it below for your consideration.

The image of Mrs Gina Rinehart and friends purchased by Hancock Prospecting

Consequently, the initial approach was, following a short and rather flippant exchange between senior members of IA executive staff, perfunctorily dismissed as being spam or some sort of prank and did not receive even the courtesy of a reply.

We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to Hancock Prospecting for this demonstrably unprofessional behaviour on our part.

A week or so later, the Hancock functionary followed up on the initial request. This led to more sober contemplation on the part of IA management. It was decided a quote could be provided, in case, perchance, the purchase offer from the mining magnate conveyed by her faithful minions was indeed in earnest. Thus, a quote was speedily dispatched to the Interested party, in which the cost to purchase a digital copy of the image in question was tendered at $10,000.

The email to Hancock Prospecting in which the image was valued at $10,000

As many may be aware, Independent Australia does not usually, in our ordinary course of business, attract funding or business proposals from mining interests or associated billionaires. Thus, when our belated reply itself did not receive a timely response, our majority owner, director and notorious skinflint, sent a follow-up email requesting that the interested party make us an offer. This was responded to with a figure of $300, which was immediately accepted.

The counteroffer from Hancock Prospecting for $300

After a trivial amount of further to-ing and fro-ing about whether the quoted price was inclusive or exclusive of GST, a purchase price of $300 for the digital image was finally settled upon, plus $30 GST for a total of $330.

Some weeks later, there was just one final request from the diligent staff of Hancock Prospecting’s accounts department seeking to verify the bona fides of their new supplier, Independent Australia. After a bank statement was duly shared and inspected, the requisite payment was, at last, received into this publication’s rather less than overflowing coffers.

Independent Australia would like to advise any other mineral magnates, anti-environment crusaders, the Murdoch family, foreign social media interests, and/or associates of the Institute of Public Affairs and their personal political representatives, that all carefully prepared digital representations in their image will in future only be sold at the non-discounted rate of $10,000 per unit (plus GST).

EDITOR'S NOTE:

Please peruse our full digital range HERE. Please feel free to make gratuitous or indeed non-gratuitous GST-free donations HERE.

@guardianaustralia The mining billionaire Gina Rinehart has demanded the National Gallery of Australia remove her portrait from an exhibition by the award-winning artist Vincent Namatjira. EPA/AAP/Getty #ginarinehart #australia #Indigienousaustralians #archibaldprize #kingcharlesportrait ♬ original sound - Guardian Australia

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