A LONG-RUNNING quarterly Queensland Resources Council survey of resource company CEOs has found that confidence in the regulatory environment in Queensland is at a near-five year low.

QRC Chief Executive Michael Roche said compared to a year ago, the latest findings revealed a stark change in the confidence of the CEOs confidence about regulation and doing business in Queensland.

"This time a year ago after a change of government in Queensland our sector deemed it business as usual for the resources sector, but in the space of 12 months a lot has changed," Mr Roche said.

"While the Labor Government's commitment to royalty stability for its first term of government is welcome there has been anything but stability elsewhere in the regulation of the sector.

"Our sector has been the target of a raft of regulatory changes – some enacted – and many more proposed – therefore it’s little wonder the resource leaders’ sentiment has substantially changed."

The survey also reveals that 44 percent of CEOs said that costs such as infrastructure charges, royalties and other taxes and charges were somewhat of significantly more expensive in Queensland than in other jurisdictions.

"One of the biggest issues facing our sector is that in recent years the sector has been loaded up with significant increases in local government rates and this came to the fore in the comments from the sector bosses," Mr Roche said.

as one company CEO put it: “See how long a mayor would last if they proposed a 500 percent increase on all ratepayers.”

Mr Roche said the majority of respondents to the survey did reveal that if the state government were able to reduce industry costs such as royalties this would improve the business outlook.

"While the QRC is getting a good hearing from Treasurer Curtis Pitt and Mines Minister Anthony Lynham, elsewhere our government continues to deliver nasty surprises and poor policy," Mr Roche said.

"I have written to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in the wake of the results from our latest survey in the hope that the government will recognise the damage being done to industry confidence due to the uncertainty."

Mr Roche said that the so-called Chain of Responsibility law enacted just over three weeks ago is causing enormous angst and uncertainty in the business community.

"QRC had no disagreement with the government's intent with that new law but, as we feared, it has gone too far and is doing serious damage to investor confidence."

One CEO put it this way in responding to the QRC survey: “Recent state government proposals and regulatory changes appear reactionary and populist.”

"The QRC is working with companies and the government to make this a great state to do business in, but if the government’s approach towards policy and regulatory stability does not change then investor confidence could keep spiralling down further, leaving taxpayers out of pocket.

"The resources sector contributes directly and indirectly one in every $5 of the State's economy and is responsible for one in six jobs, while also contributing $2.1 billion in royalties to the government in the last financial year.

"That $2.1 billion was the equivalent of funding the salaries of 35,000 teachers, 30,000 nurses or about 32,000 police officers.

"The state collects zero royalties from mines that close and from projects that are cancelled."

WWW.QRC.ORG.AU

ENDS

THE Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue has recommended that the present arrangements of the external scrutiny of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) should remain in place in its report tabled today.

Chair the Committee, Bert van Manen MP, said its inquiry into the external scrutiny of the ATO examined the roles of its main scrutineers – the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), the Inspector-General of Taxation and parliamentary committees.

“The ATO has considerable resources and powers, which are necessary to administer the tax system, but their use also needs to be monitored,” said Mr van Manen.

“Taxpayers receive a great deal of comfort from knowing the ATO is subject to high quality external scrutiny and we have recommended that the present arrangements should continue.”

Mr van Manen said that complaints about tax administration were transferred from the Commonwealth Ombudsman to the Inspector-General in May 2015.

“The Committee supports the Inspector-General’s mandate and found that the Inspector-General plays an important role in scrutinising the ATO and is highly regarded by taxpayers and tax practitioners,” he said.

Mr van Manen said another key issue in the inquiry was the extent of overlap between the work of the ANAO and the Inspector-General.

“The Committee found that the extent of any duplication, if it does occur, is minimal,” he said.

The Committee also considered communication between the Inspector-General and the ATO and recommended that the Inspector-General and the ATO increase efforts to communicate effectively.

There are opportunities for improvement in how the scrutineers operate. The Committee’s other recommendations were that:

• the scrutineers increase the transparency of how they co-ordinate their work
• the scrutineers better explain in their reports how each review fits in with other reviews
• the Inspector-General consider how to conduct reviews based on complaints and emerging issues in tax administration
• in the next Parliament, the Committee scrutinise the work of the Inspector-General, similar to how the Committee scrutinises the work of the ATO.

For information about the inquiry: please contact the committee secretariat by telephone (02) 6277 4821, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit the committee website www.aph.gov.au/taxrev

ENDS

QUEENSLAND'S peak local government association and the NHVR have signed an agreement to improve the productivity and safety of the state’s road freight industry.

NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said the Memorandum of Agreement with the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) would streamline heavy vehicle access to 150,000kms of council controlled roads throughout the state.

“A total of 2.1 billion tonnes of freight is moved by road annually throughout Australia with 22 percent originating in Queensland – the second highest amount behind NSW,” Mr Petroccitto said

“Road is the predominant mode for the transportation of freight in Queensland, with freight tonnages predicted to continue to increase over the coming decades.

“I’m pleased to be working with the LGAQ to improve the permit system at the local level and make sure the heavy vehicle industry is meeting their expectations.”

The Heavy Vehicle National Law requires local governments, as road managers, to consent to the operation of heavy vehicles on their roads before access permits can be issued.

LGAQ CEO Greg Hallam said the LGAQ and NHVR would work together to provide a standard approach to the way access permits are provided to the road freight industry.

“Under the MOA, the NHVR and the LGAQ will help more than 70 local governments throughout Queensland to fulfil their obligations under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

 “This will include the formation of a Partnership Steering Committee to oversee the Agreement’s implementation and an LGAQ Heavy Vehicle Access Liaison Officer to provide direct support to local governments,” he said.

“Both organisations have joint interest in working together to deliver heavy vehicle regulatory services. Collaboration between the Regulator, LGAQ and local governments is critical to improving the safety and productivity of Queensland’s road freight network,” he said.

“The MOA will encourage local governments to allow timely and safe heavy vehicle access to the vital ‘first and last mile’ linkages to strategic freight routes across Queensland.”

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator is Australia’s independent regulator for all vehicles over 4.5t gross vehicle mass. We administer one set of laws for heavy vehicles to deliver a comprehensive range of services under one regulator, one rulebook. For more information, visit: www.nhvr.gov.au

ENDS

PARLIAMENT'S Public Accounts Committee today tabled its report into the 2014‑15 Major Projects Report produced by Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) and Defence.

The Major Projects Report consolidates information on major Defence acquisition projects—including cost, schedule, and capability performance. It also provides a longitudinal analysis of projects and commentary on Defence’s project governance systems.

“The Major Projects Report has developed into an excellent tool to assess the status of Defence major acquisition projects” Committee Chair, Mr Ian Macfarlane MP said.

“However, despite some significant capabilities being delivered in recent years, the Committee remains concerned that slippage of projects continues and believes it is critical that Defence correctly assess the project type early in the procurement cycle—be it ‘off the shelf’ or developmental.”

“The Committee was strongly concerned with the contracting model for the Air Warfare Destroyer project—making a recommendation that Defence undertake a detailed review to determine liability for the project’s problems and to help mitigate similar issues arising in the future.”

“The Major Projects Report is a key tool to improve the transparency of Defence procurement. Recent reforms of Defence represent an opportunity to further improve the Report and Defence procurement outcomes—but ongoing commitment, resourcing and leadership will be required. The Committee commends Defence and the ANAO for their strong efforts in this regard.”

The JCPAA’s report can be found at the Committee’s website http://www.aph.gov.au/jcpaa.

ends