PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has called for clarity around the state government’s plans to increase royalty rates.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick earlier flagged that royalties would increase in 2022/23. However, the state government has not given any further clarity on what these royalty hikes would entail.

“Queenslanders, particularly people living in regional areas, are entitled to know the full details of the government’s resources royalty tax hike, which is being done behind closed doors and without industry consultation,” QRC CEO Ian Macfarlane said.

“At the last election, the government said there would be no new or increased taxes, but Treasurer Cameron Dick is now planning to impose higher royalty taxes on our sector without consulting the industry or the resources communities most affected by this broken election promise.

“The government won’t even say how much the new tax will be or how it will apply. This is the opposite of an open and transparent government.”

Macfarlane said imposing higher taxes on the resources sector, potentially from July 1, could immediately place regional jobs and projects in jeopardy.

“As Queensland’s largest export industry, our sector’s ability to compete internationally is essential to our ongoing success. That’s why resources regions have the most to lose if Queensland prices itself out of the market for new resources projects.

“Projects may not go ahead or won’t be expanded now because of the instability and uncertainty created by the Queensland government changing its royalty tax regime almost overnight.

“The Treasurer’s cavalier attitude to tax changes raises red flags for investors in all Queensland resource projects because it signals the Queensland government is happy to move the financial goalposts without consultation,” he said.

“If resource investors can’t be certain the Queensland government will keep the same rules for the life of their project, that makes our state less attractive for all resource projects. At a time Queensland needs to be making smart economic decisions about the long-term future of the resources sector, which contributed A$84.3-billion last financial year to the state economy, this is not one of them.”