PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Federal Resources and Energy Minister Gary Gray has reprimanded critics of Australia’s investment climate, saying criticisms levelled at high wages, taxation rates and over regulation and concerns about sovereignty were “plainly wrong”.

He pointed to the 2013 report titled ‘Ranking of Countries for Mining Investment’, developed by the Behre Dolbear Group, which named Australia the safest place in the world to invest.

The Minister noted that the Fraser Institute's ‘Annual Survey of Mining Companies: 2012/13’ also judged Australia as a highly attractive investment destination.

“The reality is a combination of factors influence the decision to invest, and when all of those factors are weighed up, on any objective assessment, Australia remains at the top of the list of attractive investment destinations,” Gray said.

“Our reputation is unequivocally demonstrated by our significant remaining pipeline of investment.”

Gray said that 11 committed 'mega projects' currently accounted for 80%, or A$212-billion, of total committed project expenditure, adding that in the six months to April, some 21 resource and energy projects, with a combined investment of $15.3-billion, were completed in Australia.

“And while challenging market conditions may have slowed the pace in some cases, I expect to see steady long-term growth for our sectors as we continue to meet the inexorably growing international demand for commodities,” he added.

The Minister admitted that while the weaker commodity prices may affect the resources sector, miners had to renew their focus on productivity at both mine and business level.

Critical to this was unlocking the capacity of already invested capital and bringing mines to optimal capacity.

“For many years Australia has been at the forefront of developing techniques and practices that have enabled previously uneconomic resources to be profitably extracted.

“Our ability to increase productivity through technological advances will be the key to how our industry continues to prosper in the face of falling commodity prices,” Gray said.

He added that as commodity prices flattened, technology and the country’s infrastructure would play an increasingly important role in maximising efficiency and maintaining competitiveness. Improving business processes and reducing input costs would also increase productivity.