THE Queensland Resources Council projects record coal royalties of $3.7 billion this financial year which will pay for the Palaszczuk Government’s extra infrastructure spending across the State.

QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said the projection of $3.7 billion –a $536 million increase on the Government’s pre-Christmas estimate – would allow it to increase infrastructure spending by $1.4 billion to $11.5 billion, and a total of $45 billion in infrastructure over four years.

“Projects like Convention Centre expansion in Cairns, the North Queensland Stadium in Townsville, the M1 in south-east Queensland will be built and funded by coal,” Mr Macfarlane said.

Mr Macfarlane said the increased projections was due to the strong international demand for metallurgical coal and the stable prices for both metallurgical and thermal coal from Queensland.

“This result would make 2017-18 a record 12 months for coal royalties in Queensland. The previous record was $3.4 billion in 2016-17,” he said.

“What does $3.7 billion in coal royalties mean for Queenslanders? It means their Government has $740 to spend on each of the five million Queenslanders.

“The increase in royalties of more than $500 million is the alone is equivalent to the wages for more than 7000 teachers or 7000 nurses, who are so crucial for our health and education systems across the State.

“It is fitting the Government is currently meeting in the Mackay region, which is traditionally the biggest contributor to coal royalties. We anticipate the royalties from the region could exceed $2.3 billion.

“Before Christmas, the Palaszczuk Government confirmed a $414 million increase in royalties this financial year. QRC now expects the Government will reap another $536 million more – or an extra $950 million – this financial year. These increases in royalties give the Palaszczuk Government the opportunity to invest more in Government services and cover almost all of extra $1.4 billion the plan to spend on infrastructure across Queensland in 2017-18.

“In term of the Budget bottom line, the increase means forecast net operating surplus will be now in excess of $1 billion.”

Mr Macfarlane said the role of Aurizon cutting train services to move coal through the Central Queensland Coal Network to export ports was extremely damaging for the industry, the Queensland economy and the State Budget to be delivered on 12 June, wiping up to $500 million off the Government’s royalty expectations.

“The only dark cloud on the horizon for the industry and the Government is Aurizon. It’s maintenance changes in the Central Queensland Coal Network, by Aurizon’s own admission, will stop the movement of up to 20 million tonnes of coal each year,” he said.

BACKGROUND

In December, the Palaszczuk Government’s 2017-18 Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review (MYEFR) projected coal royalties would be $3.4 billion based on prices assumption for hard coking (metallurgical) coal of US$161 per tonne, semi-soft (metallurgical) coal at US$129 per tonne and thermal coal at US$83 per tonne.

Based on price trends over the year to date, QRC’s projects are based price assumptions for hard coking (metallurgical) coal of US$180 per tonne, semi-soft (metallurgical) coal at US$127 per tonne and thermal coal at US$97 per tonne.

In MYEFR, the Palaszczuk Government projected a net operating surplus of $485 million for 2017.

The QRC is the peak representative body for Queensland ‘s resource sector. The Queensland resources sector provides one in every $6 dollars in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 16,400 businesses across the state, all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass. In the latest ABS trade data, the Queensland resources sector contributed almost 80% - or $55 billion - of Queensland’s total merchandise good exports of $70 billion over the last 12 months.

www.qrc.org.au

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AS PARTof its ongoing commitment to meeting Australia’s future energy needs, the Australian Government has announced the 2018 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release covering Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.

Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matthew Canavan said the areas will provide a wide range of options for the oil and gas industry, from well-known, petroleum-producing basins to frontier basins that are among the most prospective in the world.

“The Australian Government is committed to the safe and responsible development of oil and gas resources,” Minister Canavan said.

“Offshore oil and gas exploration is vital to meeting Australia’s future energy needs.

“The annual Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release is a key part of our plan to promote investment in new offshore exploration.”

The 2018 release is made up of 21 areas located across six basins.

The government is now consulting on acreage release reform for future releases. Minister Canavan strongly encouraged all stakeholders to have their say.

“The proposed reform will make future acreage releases more responsive to market demand, improve transparency of consultation processes, and simplify bidding rounds,” said Minister Canavan.

The 2018 Acreage Release is available at www.petroleum-acreage.gov.au

A paper describing the proposed changes  for future acreage releases is available at https://consult.industry.gov.au/

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AUSTRALIA’s approach to a safety assurance system for automated vehicles is the subject of a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) which opened for public consultation on May 15..

According to National Transport Commission (NTC) chief executive Paul Retter, Australia’s existing laws and regulations do not recognise automated vehicles. The Consultation RIS seeks feedback on what role Australian governments will play in assuring the safety of automated driving systems, and what form a safety assurance system would take.

“We have produced the Consultation RIS to gather feedback on the four safety assurance options identified: no change to existing laws, and three options with various choices of safety assurance systems – administrative, legislative, and legislative with a primary safety duty of care on the entity responsible for the automated driving system,” Mr Retter said.

This follows a request by transport ministers across Australia for the NTC to assess the costs and benefits of a mandatory self-certification safety assurance system for automated vehicles.

Self-certification by entities bringing automated driving systems to the Australian market was chosen as the preferred safety assurance approach of government and industry, following on from consultation by the NTC in 2017.

The Consultation RIS has proposed 11 safety criteria that responsible entities would need to self-certify against, which include aspects of safety system design, compliance with road traffic laws, the ability for systems to be upgraded, mandated testing in Australia, and cyber security, to name a few.

“Governments around the world are grappling with regulatory frameworks for automated vehicles, and we aim to ensure Australia’s safety assurance systems are best practice,” Mr Retter said.

The NTC has distributed information on the Consultation RIS to automated vehicle manufacturers internationally as well as across all state and territory governments, the Commonwealth and local industry stakeholders.

Submissions for the Consultation RIS can be made online on the NTC website  until Monday, July 9, 2018.

Following consultation, the NTC will prepare a Decision RIS for consideration by Australia’s transport ministers in November 2018.

A Regulation Impact Statement is required for government decisions that are likely to have a measurable impact on businesses or community organisations. Consultation is required with parties likely to be affected by the regulatory proposal.

The National Transport Commission is responsible for developing an end-to-end regulatory system for the safe commercial deployment of automated vehicles in Australia by 2020.

Click here for more information on the NTC’s suite of projects relating to automated vehicles.

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THE FEDERAL Government is leading the charge against the black economy by strengthening procurement processes to ensure that contracts are only awarded to businesses which have a good compliance history.

Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O'Dwyer, has released a consultation paper on improving the integrity of the Commonwealth procurement process.

As announced in the 2018‑19 Budget, from 1 July 2019, businesses seeking to tender for Australian Government procurement contracts over $4 million (including GST) will be required to provide a statement from the Australian Taxation Office indicating that they are generally compliant with their tax obligations.

Minister O'Dwyer said the Government was acting on the Black Economy Taskforce findings that the supply chain is becoming more complex and competitive and can disadvantage honest businesses.

"In some cases, suppliers may be outbid at the procurement point by those who have unfairly cut costs by not complying with their tax obligations. This puts suppliers that do meet their regulatory obligations at a commercial disadvantage," Minister O'Dwyer said.

"The government is taking the opportunity to level the playing field. The new requirements will not only give businesses a fair go, it will instil public confidence that honest businesses are being awarded government contracts."

Minister O'Dwyer said the Government was looking to implement the changes in a way that minimises the burden on potential suppliers and stakeholders.

The consultation paper is available on the Treasury website and submissions close on 15 June 2018.

Consultation builds on recommendations made by the Black Economy Taskforce in their final report to the Government. The Final Report and the Government's response are available on the Treasury website.

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