Ann: Woodside Reports 2013 Half-Year Profit of $8, page-22

re: Ann: Woodside Reports 2013 Half-Year Prof... Both Stevo and Joewolf, your comments are appreciated and read with interest. I just get a little annoyed when I read all encompassing statements, such as, "unions are killing this industry", "Australia's far too expensive to do business in, we'll take our money else where", and so it goes. add nauseam.

Australia is indeed an expensive country to do business, anyone who has travelled overseas recently will attest to that. Is that a result of wages? Partly, but there are a whole raft of reasons why. We are in fact a rich country, of that there is no secret and like all rich country's. Such as Switzerland, Norway ( Scandinavia generally ) etc, it is an expensive place to do business.

I am personnally aware of instances where headline's appear, ( your've got to love the Hearld/Sun ) such as "Cook earns 250K+ a year, outrageous". But when you dig a little deeper, you discover that it is a couple of people on a short term contract and they will be looking for work after 4 to 6 months. This was when I was working in Bass Strait. Is that too much money? Probably, but you can't begrudge the individual for taking it. I see it like an athlete who has an artificial salary cap imposed, for reasons that are maybe quite ligitament and genuine. But none the less their earning capacity has been curtailed, in their prime.

Make no mistake, the worlds multi-national oil company's that have flocked to our shores to partake in OUR wealth are not pleased with what they find here on the IR front, they are not used to it and they are telling anyone who shall listen. They have a habit of steam rolling the locals, weather that be Africa, Asia or the Middle east. But come they do and complain as well, but the ball keeps rolling and hopefully we will all benefit. Perhaps the pendulum has swung to far, but in due course it shall swing back the other way. Don't forget that most, are on EBA's. These of course are agreements. Agreements between two parties. In any case the free market will have it's way. The construction boom will ebb and wane and the production boom will take over. We greedy sods at the bottom of the heap will be cast aside as usual and the multi-nationals will march on into anther's back yard. You have to love a free market, I certainly do.

Oh, I got into this lot at an average of $34:50 aprox, so are enjoying the divvy. They will of course slide away on monday, but like I said earlier. This one is for the long haul.

Gkp