THE Palaszczuk Government's shock decision in the State Budget to increase the rate of royalty taxes on gas by 25 percent threatens regional Queensland jobs, investment and exports, the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has warned.

With resources royalties this year forecast to hit unprecedented highs of $5.45 billion, including $4.34 billion from coal, QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the Palaszczuk Government had betrayed the trust of the 315,000 Queenslanders who work in the resources sector, especially in regional Queensland.

“Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Treasurer Jackie Trad have broken a promise and broken their word to regional Queenslanders,” Mr Macfarlane said.

 “Regional Queenslanders will be at a loss to understand how they can trust a Government that says one thing one week, and something completely different the next. In Townsville two weeks ago the Premier said: ‘there will be no royalty increase in this year’s budget’.

 “Today we discover that’s not the case," Mr Macfarlance said.

“After weeks of refusing to rule out hiking coal royalty rates, the Palaszczuk Government has blindsided the resources sector with an increase in royalty taxes from 10 percent to 12.5 percent on petroleum including liquefied natural gas (LNG) extracted in western Queensland and exported from Gladstone.

 “This will make Queensland gas less competitive and will risk jobs and future investment and the creation of new jobs. It will also make lower emission energy generated from gas more expensive and increase the cost of gas to manufacturers such as Incitec Pivot in Brisbane," he said.

“To make matters worse, Queensland is the only state on the East Coast that is developing its gas resources.  This tax hike risks the gas supply for all Australians, not only Queenslanders, given Queensland gas suppliers have been doing all the heavy lifting for the gas market.

“Billions were poured in Queensland’s world-leading gas industry based on export models, while at the same time supplying the gas that domestic manufacturers need to sustain their industries and protect jobs. Today’s royalty tax increase casts a dark cloud over future growth in the Queensland gas industry. 

“In Parliament today the Premier, the Treasurer and other Ministers repeatedly said they backed Queensland jobs.  But this tax hike on the gas industry means they are risking jobs.

"As Trade Minister, the Premier has recently lauded the role of LNG in driving Queensland exports to record levels.  To apply an extra tax to gas undermines Queensland's trading performance, future investment, and current and future jobs in regional Queensland.”

Mr Macfarlance said tast month, the Premier had said: "Our commodities, from LNG to beef, are delivering valuable export dollars to Queensland and supporting thousands of jobs".

“The best policy comes only through consultation.  Unfortunately the Palaszczuk Government has failed that test,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“The Premier recently said she was fed up with the way her Government was handling resources approvals. Well Queenslanders are fed up with the mixed messages from the Palaszczuk Government.

“Either you back resources jobs, or you don’t.  And right now the only evidence is that the Palaszczuk Government doesn’t back long-term jobs in the resource sector.

“The LNP has committed to a royalty freeze through until the end of the next term of Parliament if it wins the election.  This would provide royalty tax stability through until October 2024. The QRC has urged the Palaszczuk Government to match that commitment and we will continue to do so.

“There is no case for increasing the rates of royalty taxes paid by resources companies.  At current market prices, Queensland already has the highest rates of coal royalty taxes of any state in Australia.

"This means that when prices are high all Queenslanders benefit from greater returns.

“By changing the royalty rate structure Queensland risks losing its competitiveness in global commodity markets. In effect, the Palaszczuk Government is threatening the goose that lays the golden egg.  And as today’s budget illustrates, Queensland cannot afford to do that.”

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has welcomed changes to the Small Business Development Corporation Act 1983 tabled by Small Business Minister Paul Papalia in the Western Australian Parliament on June 11.

The amendments will boost the powers of WA’s Small Business Commissioner David Eaton to receive and investigate complaints of mistreatment of subcontractors and small businesses on construction projects.

The reforms will also underpin the establishment of a specialised investigations and inquiry unit within the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) aimed at improving corporate and government behaviour and removing unfair practices.

“This legislation is a step in the right direction,” Ms Carnell said. ”Both Minister Papalia, and Commissioner Eaton have been advocating in this space for a number of years.

The Bill will expand the Commissioner’s current investigative and reporting functions enabling him to consider the actions of the private, local and state government sectors that affect the commercial activity of small business.

Ms Carnell also welcomed plans for WA to become the first state to establish statutory trusts to protect payments to subcontractors.

“These are two pieces of legislation that will increase protections for subcontractors and small businesses,” Ms Carnell said.

WA Attorney-General John Quigley is preparing a cabinet submission on statutory trusts to be presented later this year, in preparation for tabling in Parliament early next year.

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THE Queensland State Budget released today is a mixed bag for business, Australian Industry Group Queensland head, Shane Rodgers, said on the budget's release on June 11.

"While there is some well targeted investment in industry support programs, the budget introduces a higher payroll tax for thousands of state businesses as well as land tax increases that will likely be passed on to companies leasing property," Mr Rodgers said.

"Payroll tax changes are a two-edged sword. The lifting of the threshold point for payroll tax and continuation of targeted concessions is offset by increases to businesses with wage bills above $6.5 million.

"We welcome the continued commitment to the Advance Queensland program as well as the investment in skills development. In particular, we welcome the 'micro-credentialing' pilot and the commitment to higher-level apprenticeship programs.

"However, industry is looking for budgets that provide clear incremental steps towards a reliable, 30-year plan for the State.

"Instead we have something of a Bohemian Rhapsody budget – 'easy come, easy go' with higher mining royalties and a 'little high, a little low' on debt and infrastructure spending respectively. It is a collection of ideas in search of a bigger narrative.

"We welcome the renewed commitment to some big infrastructure projects, but the trend spending on infrastructure is still too low in a growing state," Mr Rodgers said,

"The need to deliver the State's infrastructure in a fiscally responsible manner means that much more must be done to identify funding sources to drive a pipeline of future productivity lifting infrastructure projects.

"This includes the further development of structured public-private partnership policies that can lower the risks faced by private investors and attract more private sector investments while reducing upfront costs to the public.

"While a reasonable level of debt for long-term infrastructure can be justified, this is starting to sneak towards the red zone with no pay down of debt in the foreseeable future. This is risky when there is future uncertainty around state income streams," Mr Rodgers said.

"The State relies heavily on royalties from mining and will need to work hard to preserve faith in Queensland as a reliable investment environment for all areas of industry. There will also need to be a disciplined approach to public sector spending for the business sector to have confidence in the State's fiscal stability.

"Queensland needs to start looking at the four-year budget forward estimates cycle as a clear interim step towards a 30-year transformative plan for the State rather than a collection of short-term initiatives. When this happens the climate for business and jobs growth will be much stronger," Mr Rodgers said.

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THE Queensland Resources Council has welcomed the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to upgrading the Townsville to Mount Isa rail line and reducing rail charges as a new driver in investment, exports and jobs from the State’s North West Minerals Province.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the announcement ahead of the Budget by Deputy Premier Jackie Trad of $380 million over five years to upgrade the line and reduce user charges by $20 million per annum was a commitment of confidence in the resources sector, particularly copper, zinc and lead.

Mr Macfarlane said the investment built upon the work, which QRC has been engaged in with Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham and State Development Minister Cameron Dick, to prepare a blueprint for the North West Minerals Province.

“The potential for the North West is enormous. Already resources – mining and mineral processing – contributes $1.7 billion or more than a third of the region’s economy and supports almost 10,000 full-time equivalent jobs or almost three-quarters of the region’s workforce,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“By reinvesting in the rail line, the Government can work with industry to create more wealth, more exports and more jobs for Queenslanders. It will create opportunities in the North West through to Townsville and the Port as well as to supplying businesses across the State.”

“We are keen to work with the Government on the staging of the upgrade to securing the return on this investment for all Queenslanders as soon as possible.

“Through the Blueprint and the draft North West Queensland Economic Diversification Strategy the Government has identified the importance of common user infrastructure to the region’s development.”

The Government has stated: “Common user infrastructure provides the opportunity to drive down development costs for individual projects, with multiple users contributing and benefiting from infrastructure such as road, rail and port, electricity, gas and water or mineral processing infrastructure.”

Mr Macfarlane said the importance of the commitment to upgrading the rail line was highlighted by the recent devastating flooding.

“We have seen Queensland Rail just complete an outstanding job. As a result of a 11-week QR operation, the line re-opened ahead of schedule and has resulted in reduced transport times by around 50 minutes,” he said.

“This rail line is a key transport corridor for Queensland’s metals industry which contributed $9.3 billion to the State’s economy last financial year, supported more than 50,000 full-time jobs and paid $1.3 billion in wages.”

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has welcomed plans by the Victorian Government to establish a $250 million Business Growth Fund to help small and medium businesses access capital, and looks forward to seeing further details about the fund.

“I’m supportive of any initiative that gives SME operators access to funding at a time when they are being heavily impacted by tightening requirements by lenders,” Ms Carnell said.

“We know that the biggest barrier to SME growth is access to finance.

“While we understand the design of the fund has yet to be finalised, it should be focused on long-term funding solutions for SMEs.

“Ideally, the fund would allow SMEs to access amounts between $250,000 and $5 million, with terms up to seven years.

“The involvement of superannuation funds in providing an initial pool of capital is also something we have previously recommended.”

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QUEENSLAND PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk has reaffirmed the importance of the resources sector and its role in renewables as a recipe for regional resilience and prosperity, according to the Queensland Resources Council.

QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said the Premier’s speech to CEDA, with former US Vice-President Al Gore in Brisbane today, made it clear there was a strong future for the resources sector in Queensland and the benefits to regional communities from it.

“In the Premier’s words – ‘in Queensland, we are and we will continue to be a State where minerals continue to sustain human existence are dug up from the ground’,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“The QRC, our members and the 315,000 Queensland men and women working in the resources sector are committed to delivering the resources – the coal, the metals, the gas – for the everyday needs of people living across the State, across the nation and around the globe.

“The QRC and the resources sector embraces renewable energy, not only as a supplier of electricity for operations but as a market for the coal and metals we mine. Advanced manufacturing, electric vehicles and battery storage are all markets for our mining companies," he said.

“The future is not a choice between resources or renewables.  The future is a commitment to resources and renewables.

“Queensland can be the energy superpower of the future, including a renewables superpower, while at the same time building on our strengths in coal, gas and other minerals.

“Queenslanders don’t want to be lectured by visiting activists from interstate and overseas, whether it is Bob Brown or Al Gore. They want their efforts, their hard work, their investment and their futures supported.  The Premier has done that today.”

Mr Macfarlane said QRC was committed to working with the Premier, her Government and all Members of Parliament to ensure there was stable and predictable policy to allow the resources sector to invest, grow, employ and export more. 

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell has welcomed the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) proposed exemption to collective bargaining for small businesses.

“This proposal is good news for small business.” Ms Carnell said.

“It is broad-ranging and in line with our submission to the ACCC regarding this issue.

“The proposed exemption allows most small businesses to collectively negotiate with their suppliers and processors, without having to seek ACCC approval first.

“Franchisees in particular will see tangible benefits as they band together to bargain for better outcomes on pricing and contract terms.

“This proposal makes it simpler and cheaper for eligible businesses and franchisees to collectively negotiate if they choose.

“It’s another important step towards levelling the playing field for small business.”

THE LATEST Federal Court judgement handing down over $130,000 in fines sees the total penalties against building unions for breaking workplace laws now exceeds four million dollars – this financial year alone – according to Master Builders Australia.

"Building unions have now racked up over $4 million in fines for bullying and illegal conduct on building sites in just one financial year alone" said Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia. 

"This high amount over such a short time gives four million extra reasons why the ABCC is essential to ensure everyone plays by the rules on building sites," she said. 

Within the judgment (ABCC v Richard Xavier Hassett, Kevin Harkins and the CFMMEU) the Federal Court found that two building union officials had committed serious safety breaches and broke Right of Entry of laws, representing six separate contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 and resulting in penalties of almost $140,000. 

In handing down the penalties, Justice O’Callaghan said that the officials conduct was a: 

 "serious breach of [the Fair Work laws]… because it was very dangerous, which [the official] must have known, and it was serious because [the official] gained entry to the site purportedly in respect of safety corners – only to place the crane operator and others potentially in harm’s way."

The Court went on to find that the dangerous conduct: 

"…was made all the more serious by the fact that when he was told to get off the crane, he refused." 

His Honour also noted the same official had committed similar breaches of safety and workplace laws on multiple occasions in the past, and referenced the conduct of the union more broadly noting it was: 

“a large organisation with significant financial resources which exhibits apparent willingness to contravene the [Fair Work Act] in a serious way to impose its will”. 

"Building unions need to stop thinking that the laws don't apply to them and play by the rules like everyone else," Ms Wawn said.  

"This is exactly why the ABCC is so crucial in protecting workers and small businesses."