September 2024
Philip Lowe is Barrenjoey’s new inside man
The former RBA governor has joined the board of the bank he once lashed out at, putting them in a penalty box.
- Mark Di Stefano
September 2023
Former RBA boss accused of ‘misinformation’ on board shake-up
One of the authors of the central bank review has accused Ian Macfarlane of spreading falsehoods about the effect of the overhaul on Michele Bullock’s authority.
- Michael Read and John Kehoe
Bullock’s interest rate powers ‘weakened’, ex RBA boss says
New RBA governor Michele Bullock risks losing control of interest rates to outsiders on the board, under a “radical” recommendation accepted by the government.
- John Kehoe
July 2023
- Exclusive
- Queensland votes
Queenslanders back mining royalty cuts
New polling shows almost half of Queenslanders support reducing coal royalties to encourage big miners, like BHP, to invest in future projects in the state.
- Updated
- Mark Ludlow
June 2023
Macfarlane to retire as head of Queensland mining lobby group
The former federal coalition minister will finish by the end of the year but vowed the industry would continue its campaign against the Queensland government’s progressive royalties regime.
- John Crouch
Miners predict Qld coal royalties bonanza will continue
Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane said Treasury’s prediction of a significant drop-off in coal royalties next financial year was unlikely.
- Updated
- Mark Ludlow
- Exclusive
- Queensland budget
No new taxes but choppy waters ahead, Queensland treasurer warns
Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick said strong coal royalties and property tax revenue would help drive spending initiatives to address key issues such as health and public housing.
- Mark Ludlow
April 2023
Macfarlane withstands Woodside investor backlash over climate
CEO Meg O’Neill has expressed frustration with climate change protesters amid a heavy police presence at the company’s annual general meeting in Perth.
- Brad Thompson
Woodside yields on climate vote but resistance remains
A proxy adviser says investors should reject the pay report and the re-election of a director, even after Woodside agreed to give shareholders another vote on climate.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
LGIM to vote against Macfarlane’s re-election to Woodside board
The European asset manager says it does not back the former resource minister citing disappointment over the company’s ‘lack of commitment’ to climate action.
- Kylar Loussikian
March 2023
Investors want Woodside directors held to account on climate
Former resources minister Ian Macfarlane is one of three Woodside directors whose re-election is opposed by Vision Super, Betashares and activist group ACCR.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
February 2023
Queensland mining industry’s ‘fatality cycle’ continues
The death of two miners at MMG’s underground zinc mine, near Mt Isa, this week has once again shone the spotlight on Queensland’s mine safety culture.
- Mark Ludlow
January 2023
Labor ‘hiding behind cost argument’ on nuclear power
Technology billionaire Bill Gates said nuclear power should be considered in Australia, but the Albanese government has stood by its line that it’s too expensive to be part of the energy mix.
- Mark Ludlow and Simon Evans
November 2022
- Exclusive
- Carbon challenge
State-owned energy companies deliver $5b bonanza for Palaszczuk
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said keeping the electricity generators in public ownership was the only way to deliver rebates to households.
- Mark Ludlow
July 2022
Lobbyists will be lobbyists...
The entire influence-peddling industry is tying itself in knots over the Coaldrake review in Queensland.
- Joe Aston
June 2022
Coal sector gears up for fight over Qld ‘super profits tax’
The Queensland government will lift a 10-year royalty freeze on coal next week to raise billions in badly needed revenue.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The RBA is facing a housing tightrope
Former governor Ian Macfarlane says the property market is the big hurdle for the central bank as it raises rates, but it cannot be “hostage” to home buyers.
- James Thomson
March 2022
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Australia surprised by decade of China luck
The national pay rise that came with the China boom at the start of the noughties also generated complacency and a new period of political dysfunction.
- The AFR View
February 2022
- Exclusive
- Queensland budget
Queensland finds new coal markets to replace China
Some coal producers have decided they are unlikely to return to the Chinese market even if the informal ban is lifted.
- Mark Ludlow
March 2021
QRC tones down the politics in bid to retain BHP, Origin
Queensland Resources Council boss Ian Macfarlane will attack policy rather than parties in future but says the past year has reinforced lobby groups’ importance.
- Peter Ker