Australia records weakest annual growth in years, ASX falls. Well done Labor, page-51

"and why can a national government not fund exploration?"

99% of mining companies fail as they find NOTHING. You think a government which only cares about short term votes will fund exploration which will extremely likely fail? How popular would that be? That would eat away from the profits you think an inefficient governemnt would make from mining. Just going in circles. Let private sector take the risk not the tax payer

You are on an ASX site and calling for a nationalised mining sector including the whole junior sector. ASX would be below 2,000 if that would be a thing. Sounds terrible but communism is never a good thing