*

Rinehart calls for cuts to government spending, supports

fossil

fuels

*

Rinehart urges increased defence spending, aligns with

U.S.

policies

*

Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting increased support for

opposition

Liberal Party

By Melanie Burton

MELBOURNE, May 1 (Reuters) - Mining magnate Gina

Rinehart is calling for Australia to follow the U.S. lead by

embarking on Donald Trump-style leadership to cut government

largesse while boosting defence spending and energy security, as

the country heads to the polls this weekend.

A vocal Trump supporter who attended the president's

inauguration party in Mar-a-Lago in January, Rinehart told

Reuters that rather than "whine and whinge" about Trump and his

policies, Australia could benefit from a similar approach.

"Australia must reduce its costs, cut government wastage and

the expense of government tape, regulations, compliance,

licences...," Rinehart said in exclusive comments sent to

Reuters.

Rinehart is Australia's richest person with a net worth

Forbes puts at $30 billion. Her flagship mining company, Hancock

Prospecting Pty Ltd, is among the biggest donors to opposition

leader Peter Dutton's Liberal Party, more than tripling

donations in the 2024 financial year to A$500,000 ($320,000),

according to Australian Electoral Commission data.

Voter concerns over the global fallout from Trump's

stop-start tariffs and volatile diplomacy appear to have hurt

the prospects of Dutton's conservative coalition ahead of the

May 3 vote, with polls in the final stretch of the campaign

showing the ruling centre-left Labor Party of Prime Minister

Anthony Albanese easing ahead.

The trend is similar to that seen in Canada this week where

Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals staged a major political

comeback, fuelled by a backlash against Trump.

Rinehart said the outcome of Trump's tariffs policies may

take a few months to play out, noting "more than 75 countries

had asked to meet with U.S. Administration officials to

negotiate on tariffs."

Dutton's office and the Labor party did not respond to

requests for comment.

Rinehart's support of Dutton and the populist

conservative movement in Australia has echoes of the support for

Trump by billionaire Elon Musk, who is now a key adviser to the

president.

Rinehart has not publicly sought any Australian government

role, but has called for the establishment of a version of

Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). She also

wants Australia to withdraw from the Paris Agreement to combat

climate change, as Trump did during his first term.

When Trump was inaugurated in January, Dutton was ahead in

opinion polls, as Australians expressed anger over the cost of

living and housing affordability.

In the week after Trump and Musk arrived in the White House,

Dutton criticised public servants hired as "culture, diversity

and inclusion advisers." He later promised to set up a Ministry

of Government Efficiency, but has since played down comparisons

with Trump and his policies.

Rinehart suggested without providing detail, that in

Australia "the Left" was resisting public sector cuts because

they benefited from bureaucratic largesse.

"Perhaps not surprising the Left are also against Elon Musk

and DOGE, you might think, wouldn't they like to see this

taxpayer drain minimalised, but no, certainly not those with

snouts in the trough. And not those who may be concerned they

will have to pay money back where wrongly taken, or even go to

jail."

Dutton has proposed cutting around 41,000 non-frontline

government jobs in Canberra, a figure Labor said was impossible

given the number of jobs in the capital fitting the criteria.

FOSSIL FUELS, DEFENCE BOOST

Rinehart has been a vocal supporter of fossil fuels to boost

energy security and lower prices. She was pictured during the

Trump campaign smiling and wearing a sign that read "Drill Baby

Drill."

Dutton has been a major backer of natural gas, pledging to

incentivise more production, and wants to introduce nuclear

power, in contrast to Labor which is relying on renewables and

batteries to lower power prices and meet carbon commitments.

"Probably the biggest single government tape that needs to

be on pause, so our economy has the chance to recover, is the

Paris Accord," Rinehart said.

"Could it be that the American public are ahead of us, they

understand that cutting the mining and export of fossil fuels

brings less revenue, less jobs and opportunities," she added.

Last month, in response to questions that Liberal Party

policies had not gone far enough for Rinehart on gas, while at

the same time had not ditched a commitment to net zero

emissions, Dutton said: "We'll have points of difference with

many people, but that doesn't mean that it impacts your

friendship or your relationship with different business people."

Rinehart last week called for Australia, a key U.S. security

ally, to spend 5% of its gross domestic product on national

security, in line with the Trump administration's policies.

Labor has pledged to boost defence spending by A$50 billion

over the next decade, but would have to more than double its

current spending to meet a 5% goal.

Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting in February disclosed for the

first time a roughly $1.3 billion U.S. investment portfolio,

with many of the largest holdings in companies involved in

energy, mining and rare earths - crucial for defence and

aerospace technologies.

A Reuters analysis of the 10 top holdings show they are up

2.3% in the first four months of the year, in contrast to a 5.5%

fall in the S&P 500, thanks largely to a 57% surge in

shares of rare earths producer MP Materials ( MP ).

"Americans may be ahead of us recognising they want strong

leadership providing defence of their country and people, which

President Trump is also busy doing," Rinehart said.

"Although, they may not want their taxpayers dollars and

defence personnel's lives risked to help allies who don't

understand them, whine and whinge and worse, are incredibly rude

to them, and who do bugger all to provide their own defence."

($1 = 1.5603 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne. Editing by Praveen

Menon and Lincoln Feast.)