Coal miners in the dark on Qld tax hike

Marty Silk | June 9, 2022

Coal miners still don’t know how much tax they will be paying in Queensland in three weeks’ time.

Treasurer Cameron Dick says miners will pay more tax on each tonne of coal sold, known as royalties, next financial year.

He is yet to reveal the size of the hike coming in the June 21 budget.

“It’ll be fair for the industry, but very importantly it’ll be fair for the people of our state,” Mr Dick told reporters on Thursday.

The Queensland Resources Council said the treasurer refused to reveal the new royalty rates in meeting with miners on Wednesday.

“(That) flies in the face of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s promise to be an open and transparent government,” the QRC told AAP in a statement on Thursday.

“The coal industry is facing a rate rise in two weeks, and does not know what to expect.”

The QRC has warned that a royalty hike will scare away foreign investors, but Mr Dick denies that will happen.

The treasurer also insists he is still a friend of the mining industry.

“But the point of being a friend, and the value of friendship, is being able to tell the truth,” Mr Dick said.

“And the truth is that these companies have been making very significant amounts of money.”

Taxes on bets taken by gambling firms will also rise from 15 per cent to 20 per cent on July 1.

Interest earnings from a fund holding rental bonds are also expected to flow into government coffers next financial year.

That will allow $200 million to be spent on new roads, sewerage systems and other infrastructure in the state’s southeast.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles says installing public infrastructure will allow more homes to be built.

“Once that infrastructure is there, developers tell us that they will be able to open up those lots,” he told reporters.

Households are set to get $44 off their monthly electricity bills, which should help when they rise by $41-$55 from July.

Public high school students will also get free period products, while $72 million will be spent on a new aeromedical hub at Brisbane Airport.

The treasurer has foreshadowed a deficit of about $1.5 billion in 2022/23, down from the $2.4 billion deficit forecast just six months ago.