`Australia risks becoming another Greece, Spain’

Sydney: The world`s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, has warned that Australia could become another ‘Greece, Spain or Portugal’ unless it cuts government debt and lifts its competitiveness.

The Australian mining magnate said there are ‘too many heads buried in the sand’ regarding bloated government spending and policies she claims are anti-business. Rinehart said investors who are critical to the nation`s welfare are "discouraged by bad policies, even hated". “We need to earn revenue before we can spend it, we need to focus more on the earning, not just the spending, and for this we need to have a good environment to make investment welcome,” News.com.au quoted Rinehart, as saying. According to the report, her remarks came as she launched her first book, Northern Australia and Then Some: Changes We Need to Make Our Country Rich, at a private Brisbane function on Friday. The book promises to give readers ‘a comprehensive insight’ into her ‘thoughts about national prosperity and an intimate glimpse of the life and times of this prominent Australian,’ the report said. ANI