QUEENSLAND coal exports in December capped off a resurgent year for the Queensland resources sector, going up in value by more than 15 percent in 2018.

Queensland Resources Council (QRC) chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the stellar figures based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reinforced the importance of our state’s commodity exports to all Queenslanders.

“2018 was a year of record royalty tax returns and record exports buoyed by the resources sector,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Queensland’s exports are worth $81.7 billion, up more than 16 percent over the last year.

“The resources sector accounts for 80 percent of our state’s exports, through our highly sought after coal, gas and minerals.

“Our coal exports are the most valuable, worth $35.7 billion.  That coal is exported to build cities and infrastructure around the world, and to provide high-efficiency, low-emissions energy," Mr Macfarlane said.

“In return our exports bring in returns for all Queenslanders to build schools, roads and hospitals and pay for teachers, nurses and police.

“This year, the resources sector will pay a record $5.2 billion in royalty taxes to boost the Queensland budget.

"Overall, coal exports went up 15.7 percent in 2018, while minerals went up 14.3 percent in value," he said.

“Our resources sector has created these returns while using just 0.1 per cent of the state’s land, and while working cooperatively with other industries such as agriculture and tourism.

“A strong resources sector delivers benefits for all Queenslanders, not only the 316,000 people who work in the sector or in associated jobs.

“These values reinforce the need for an investment pipeline for the future, to keep delivering returns through new projects.

“Queensland must have stable, consistent and transparent regulation to ensure we attract new investments to our resources sector and create new jobs.”

www.qrc.org.au

ends

THE House of Representatives Health, Aged Care and Sport Committee has commenced an Inquiry into the 2017-18 Annual Reports of the Department of Health and Australian Hearing, with particular emphasis on hearing services.

The committee chair, Trent Zimmerman MP, said, "The committee is undertaking this inquiry to follow up with the Department of Health and Australian Hearing about developments in the area of hearing health.

"In particular, the committee will examine government action in relation to the 22 recommendations in its 2017 report Still Waiting to be Heard… Report on the Inquiry into the Hearing Health and Wellbeing of Australia.’  

Further information about the Committee’s inquiry is available on the Committee’s website.

ends

WAGE THEFT aboard a BlueScope chartered foreign-flagged ship in Port Kembla has been exposed after intervention from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

Inspections by ITF inspectors in Western Port and Port Kembla of the Panamanian registered vessel KEN EI, in January, led to $38,384 in coastal wages being paid immediately in cash to the 20 Filipino seafarers crewing the ship.

“Upon arriving in Western Port, the crew on the KEN EI immediately asked our inspector about claims for payment for two coastal voyages and requested that the ITF contact the shipowner as they had no correspondence or indication that they would be paid by either the shipowner or charterers BlueScope and Rio Tinto,” said ITF national coordinator Dean Summers.

“This is the cold, hard reality of the decision by BHP and BlueScope to end 100 years of Australian shipping, dumping Australian crews and replacing them with Flag of Convenience vessels,” said Mr Summers.

Seafarers working Flag of Convenience (FoC) ships are subjected to exploitation, poor working conditions and wages and are often at the mercy of a system that allows for minimum regulation, according to the ITF.

“Wage theft is one of the biggest problems in the global shipping industry. In December last year alone, ITF inspectors conducted 761 inspections and recovered almost $2 million in wages stolen from the world’s seafarers,” said Mr Summers.

“The decision by BHP and BlueScope – facilitated by the Morrison Government – has again opened the door to more exploitation on our coast.

“In this case, the shipowner only cooperated after we alerted them to their obligations under Australian law. We even had to correct their calculations to ensure the crew were paid correctly.

“One inspection led to almost $40,000 being paid to the crew on the KEN EI which fuels our concerns about the health, safety and welfare of the crews working on foreign flagged vessels chartered by BHP and BlueScope across the country.

“This is compounded by the fact that BHP have blocked ITF Inspectors access to conduct inspections onboard ships at their ports, and manufactured excuses to keep working and living conditions on these ships sheltered from scrutiny,” said Mr Summers.

ends

THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) is calling on the Queensland Parliament to emphatically reject the Greens’ "destructive and reckless proposal to ban mining in the Galilee Basin".

In a joint submission with the Queensland Mining and Energy Division of the CFMEU, the QRC has identified the deep flaws in the Mineral Resources (Galilee Basin) Amendment Bill (Qld), which is currently being assessed by a Parliamentary committee.

“This is the Greens’ anti-resources tantrum 2.0,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.

“Much like the similarly flawed bill before the Senate in the Federal Parliament, this proposal is counterproductive and counter to common sense.

“Not only would it fail to have any impact on changing global temperatures  - its stated intention – but its anti-resources agenda would also risk the jobs of the 316,000 Queenslanders who work in the industry and leave the Queensland budget in tatters. 

“There is a greater responsibility on the Queensland Parliament to emphatically reject this bill, given the State’s direct role in regulating and assessing resources projects.

“All Queensland resources projects go through a rigorous assessment process to balance economic, environmental and social impacts. This process includes extensive stakeholder consultation and public feedback.

“It is a process that serves Queensland well and ensures an ongoing pipeline of investment.

“Figures from the Office of the Chief Economist’s December update showed that if the six major coal projects in the Galilee Basin were to proceed they would create 13,900 construction jobs and 12,803 jobs during operations. 

“While anti-coal activists sneer at these jobs, they are an opportunity that regional Queenslanders are ready to grasp, especially given mining jobs are typically high-skilled and high-paying.

“The global demand for coal is strong, and coal is forecast to remain at about 40 percent of total power generation in the Asia Pacific by the year 2040 under a scenario modelled by the International Energy Agency.

“If the Greens’ bid to ban coal in Queensland was successful that would simply mean the demand for coal would be met from other countries with lower quality coal, which would in turn lead to higher emissions. Meanwhile, Queenslanders would miss out on the returns from royalty taxes which pay for teachers, nurses and police. 

“Without royalty taxes from the resources industry, the Queensland budget would be in the red to the tune of $4.6 billion.

“There is no magic source of money in Queensland.  The budget depends upon investment and production in the resources industry to fund new projects whether they be roads, schools or hospitals, or even to fund the Greens’ own proposal for a Queensland Public Infrastructure Bank.

“The bill proposes to rip up existing mining leases in the Galilee Basin. Not only would this trash Queensland’s reputation as a reliable place to invest, but it should send a chill through every industry in Queensland. 

“If the Greens are successful in destroying one lawful, responsible and regulated industry, they’ll simply shift their sights to the next target.

 “The Queensland resources industry is responsible and makes best use of planning and technology to ensure long-term sustainability for the environment. It works co-operatively with other sectors such as agriculture and tourism.

“Climate change is a global challenge and the resources industry is committed to being part of a the global solution, including through advances in technology, greater energy efficiency and supplying the high quality, low emissions resources that displace higher emissions products.

“This bill is the standard folly from the Greens, who have always shown a reckless disregard for jobs and regional communities.  The onus is on the rest of the Queensland Parliament to stand up for Queensland jobs and prosperity by emphatically ruling out this legislation and the ideas it proposes.”

www.qrc.org.au

ends