Survey shows coal support holding strong in community

The bulk of Queenslanders support greater investment in coal, faster approvals and lower royalties, according to research by industry lobby group Coal Australia. Coal Australia commissioned an independent market research firm to conduct a survey covering 5200 people in metropolitan and regional communities in Queensland. The majority of those surveyed said they did not want to stop coal mining if it impacted their community and the Queensland economy, including 78 per cent of regional respondents and 67 per cent of respondents in metropolitan areas. Areas surveyed included Mackay, Burdekin, Rockhampton, Keppel, Townsville, Mundingburra, Thuringowa, Gladstone, Gregory, Springwood, Gaven, Ipswich and Capalaba. Those particularly against any end to coal mining included voters in Mackay (81 per cent), Burdekin (80 per cent), Townsville (72 per cent) and Gregory (85 per cent) were particularly against any end to coal mining. Voters in key coal communities like Mackay (87 per cent), Rockhampton (82 per cent), and Gladstone (90 per cent) all strongly agreed that “coal mining is important to their community”.Residents in metropolitan Brisbane and the Gold Coast were also overwhelmingly in agreement, with voters in Springwood (71 per cent), Capalaba (73 per cent) and Ipswich (83 per cent) all showing strong levels of support for the industry. Coal Australia said there was also strong support among Queenslanders for attracting greater investment to grow the coal mining industry (regional 71 per cent and metro 63 per cent) as well as strong support for reducing red tape to speed up approval of new coal mines. Click HERE for full survey results “While encouraging, these results reflect what many of our members have already been seeing," Coal Australia chairman Nick Jorss said. Coal Australia chairman Nick Jorss. "The vast majority of Queenslanders, both in the regions and the metro areas, back our coal communities. "Voters understand how important the coal industry is to the economic health of Queensland. They are also supportive of Queensland getting onto a more sustainable and internationally competitive coal royalty regime if it kept investment flowing into our great state. "Queensland voters clearly understand that industry is a force for good, and want to see more, not less, coal mining.” Whitehaven Coal chief executive officer Paul Flynn, a Coal Australia member, said the findings on coal royalties made it clear that anyone who thought having the highest coal royalty rates in the world was good for Queensland was kidding themselves. Related: Curragh takes a hit, owner rails against royalties slug “The findings of this independent community research couldn’t be clearer – regional Queenslanders know better than most how important the coal industry is to their future, and they want to see it thrive,” Mr Flynn said. “Every year, the coal industry invests billions of dollars in Queensland to develop projects, pay salaries and wages, and support local businesses and community causes. "If the State Government wants mining companies to continue to carry the risk of making large, multi-decade, capital investments, it must offer appropriate incentives to invest via a sustainable royalty regime under which everyone can prosper.” Coal royalties contributed $10.541 billion to Queensland’s coffers in 2023-24 following the introduction of new tiers of progressive coal royalties in 2022. The State Government this month passed the Progressive Coal Royalty Protection (Keep it in the Bank) Bill 2024, which means legislation must be amended in the Queensland Parliament before those royalty tiers can be reduced. Deputy Premier and Treasurer Cameron Dick said Queenslanders deserved a fair share from the coal resources that rightfully belonged to them, and the government’s progressive coal royalty tiers were delivering. You may also like: https://industryqld.com.au/coal-titans-challenge-workplace-changes/

Survey shows coal support holding strong in community

Industry Queensland

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