Qld Govt must stop ‘go slow’ on resource projects: QRC

THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has repeated its call for the State Government to commit to 10 years of stable royalty taxes to make the resource industry more attractive to global investors post COVID, and provide Queensland with economic stability and job security. 

The industry has also called on the government to “dramatically improve” its regulatory processes and cut excessive red and green tape. 

Chief executive Ian Macfarlane last week launched the mining and gas industry's 'You can count on us to help Queensland recover' campaign in the lead-up to the state election to raise awareness about the sector’s $74 billion annual contribution to the state economy. 

Mr Macfarlane said the only reason resources has been able to keep the state economy afloat during COVID was because of previous decades of large-scale investment in resources projects.

“Increased royalty rates and excessive regulation during the current term of the State Government has meant long term investors don’t regard investment in Queensland resource projects as positively as they have in the past,” Mr Macfarlane said. 

“The QRC is extremely concerned the Queensland Government doesn’t understand the long-term implications of the ‘go slow’ it has imposed on gas and mining operations over the past three years.

“Big resource companies that roll out big projects work on long-term timeframes, and they don’t like surprises.

“Offering 10 years of royalty stability and streamlining regulatory practices will immediately signal to potential investors that Queensland is open for business, and will translate to thousands of jobs and opportunities for Queenslanders.” 

Mr Macfarlane said the general public would be very surprised at just how difficult it’s become for resource companies to do business in Queensland. 

“The lack of legislative consultation with the resources industry, slow regulatory and approval processes, and the barriers being put in front of us has been unbelievable,” he said. 

“We have that many hoops to jump over and crawl through, by the time we get to the other side we’ve missed 10 opportunities to give Queensland another few decades of economic stability and jobs."

Mr Macfarlane said Queensland ranked 15th in terms of investment attractiveness in the globally recognised Fraser Institute survey of mining companies and investors released earlier this year, comparing poorly to Western Australia’s number one position.

“If you’re looking for the canary in the coalmine, this is it,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Not only does Queensland rank behind Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, we’ve got 11 other international competitors ahead of us who companies would prefer to invest their money with.

“This a terrible result for such a resource-rich state and reflects poorly on the government.” 

Mr Macfarlane said the QRC needs to see real change in the Queensland Government’s attitude towards resources in the lead-up to the state election.

“Our industry needs the Premier to commit to a stable royalty regime for the next 10 years and to world class regulation processes to enable us to do what we do best, which is running world-class mining and gas operations,” Mr Macfarlane said. 

"Large scale projects that get off the ground will lead to thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in royalty taxes for the State budget for decades, so this is an opportunity for the government to secure Queensland’s future post-COVID. 

“A balance can be struck between supporting mining as an industry, and making sure companies meet legislative requirements and community expectations around their environmental responsibilities. 

“The resource industry is ready to work with any government to achieve this.”

www.qrc.org.au

ends