Stark difference in states’ coal royalties shift says QRC

A NSW Government move to raise coal royalties has prompted the Queensland Resources Council to highlight the 'stark difference' in how charges were raised in the Sunshine State. The Minns Government will lift coal royalties by 2.6 percentage points from July 2024, boosting the state’s budget position by more than $2.7 billion over four years. Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick applauded the NSW move on social media. "Under the LNP, the people of New South Wales missed out on their fair share from record coal prices. Great to see the NSW Labor Government delivering," he wrote. The QRC has been furiously campaigning against the coal royalty increases announced in the Queensland Government's last State Budget, with a graduated scale of charges of up to 40 per cent as prices improve. Chief executive Ian Macfarlane said Australia’s resources sector was facing significant policy challenges from state and federal governments. This was making it much harder to attract the new investment needed to create the jobs of the future, he said. "There is a stark difference between the NSW and Queensland approach, in that the NSW Government consulted industry on the changes before they were introduced while the Queensland Government blindsided the industry with no detail ahead of its royalty hikes," he said. "Even with the increase, Queensland’s coal royalty rates are still four times’ the rate of NSW. "Queensland also still has the world’s highest coal royalties, making us uncompetitive with NSW and other countries. "This puts our companies at a major disadvantage when competing for project capital and will significantly impact the state economy and jobs in the next five to 10 years, particularly in regional communities.” NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the new system there was a fair outcome for the people of NSW. "The old system is out of date. The market has moved on. That’s why we are modernising the state’s coal royalties," he said. “The new scheme will make sure the people of NSW share in the wealth their resources create. “I want to thank all of the mining companies, the power companies, and our key trading partners for their extensive engagement with the NSW Government ahead of the forthcoming budget.” The consultation on the new NSW royalties system included: Two roundtables, attended by 13 mining companies. Seven individual meetings between the Treasurer, the Minister for Natural Resources and major mine operators. Twenty written submissions from representatives of the coal sector, including from coal mining companies and coal fired power generators. Detailed consultation with affected companies on price forecasts, currency assumptions, volume growth and cost curves. The Treasurer and the Minister for Finance then met with an industry delegation to discuss feedback. A roundtable with 4 major power companies, spanning the generation, distribution and retail sectors of the electricity industry. Two detailed consultations between NSW Treasury and the Consuls-General of Japan and Korea. Existing discounts for underground and deep underground mining (deeper than 400m) will continue. Under the new NSW system the rates for open cut, underground and deep underground mining will be: Type of miningOpen cutUnderground Deep underground Coal royalty rate from July 202410.8%9.8%8.8%Current coal royalty rate8.2%7.2%6.2%

Stark difference in states’ coal royalties shift says QRC

Industry Queensland

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