Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk boycotts Queensland Resources Council lunch but MPs show up
Two Labor MPs appeared to have missed the Premier’s memo when they showed up at Wednesday’s resources industry lunch despite a series of high-profile withdrawals.
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Queensland’s state government has staged a bizarre boycott of the state’s $94bn resources sector - with the Premier refusing to front their annual lunch, and ordering her Ministers to do the same.
But two government MPs – Jim Madden and James Martin – didn’t get the memo, and still turned up to the Queensland Resources Council’s annual event on Wednesday despite Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s boycott.
The boycott by a government that relies on the sector to prop up its Budget came after the QRC announced it would launch a multimillion-dollar advertising blitz attacking the state’s mining royalty increase.
Among the late withdrawals from Wednesday’s event were Resources Minister Scott Stewart, Small Business Minister Di Farmer, director-general of the Premier’s department Rachel Hunter and state development director-general Mike Kaiser.
Ms Palaszczuk – who was keynote speaker at the same event last year – seized on reports the QRC member-funded campaign against the mining royalty increase would cost $40m to justify her no-show.
“I was invited to today’s lunch. I have made it very clear that my ministers will not be attending this lunch because of the campaign – the $40m campaign,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I am angry about this.”
The Courier-Mail understands Ms Palaszczuk had already declined an invitation to the event prior to today, but that her ministers and directors-general had been locked in to attend.
QRC chief executive and former Liberal Party federal Minister Ian Macfarlane said he would not confirm the $40m figure, and “we quite frankly don’t know what the figure is”.
“It’s not being paid for by the taxpayer,” Mr Macfarlane said.
“We as an industry have the right to stand up and tell the facts about the resources sector because the misinformation needs to be put straight.”
While delivering the QRC’s economic contribution to Queensland annual report to the 800-strong crowd, Mr Macfarlane showed an image of Ms Palaszczuk attending last year’s event with a number of top Ministers.
“Well, what a difference a year makes. Last year, we had the Premier, Deputy Premier, Treasurer and a string of ministers at this lunch,” he told the crowd.
“Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk spoke about the importance of the resources sector to Queensland, and I was proudly talking about the strength and resilience of the resources sector in carrying Queensland through the worst of the global pandemic and about how bright our future was, with global demand for Queensland commodities on the rise and a commitment to reducing emissions firmly embedded in our industry’s culture and operations.
“Not so this year. The Premier, her Deputy, the Treasurer, the Resources Minister and the rest of her ministers are no-shows at the Queensland resources sector’s biggest gathering of the year.
“They’ve not only pulled the plug on the lunch, but earlier this year they pulled the rug out from under the resources sector by introducing the world’s highest royalty tax, by a long way.”
In its economic update, the QRC said the resources sector had contributed $94.6b to the state in the most recent financial year, supported more than 450,000 jobs and paid $9b in royalties.
Mr Macfarlane said the royalty increase would make Queensland’s top tier royalty rate the highest in the world, and would see mining companies pay an additional $4.5b this financial year – despite Treasury forecasts in the most recent state budget it would add $1.2b to government coffers over the next four years.
Treasurer Cameron Dick was expected to deliver an update on the royalty revenue at next month’s mid-year budget update.
Ms Palaszczuk insisted she had a strong working relationship with a range of mining companies, but said she was “extremely disappointed” in Mr Macfarlane.
“If they have $40m … for an advertising campaign, I can build a special school in Queensland for $40m,” she said.
“I could put money into housing with $40m. I can put $40m to very, very good use – towards another satellite hospital.
“If companies are making $40m to go into a campaign, that money can be very well spent in the lead up to Christmas helping Queenslanders.”
But a resources industry figure pointed out that the criticism was “pretty rich” coming from a Premier who had unapologetically wasted more than $200 million of taxpayer money on an unused quarantine facility at Wellcamp near Toowoomba.
Asked whether he was disappointed with the Premier’s comment’s Mr Macfarlane said he was “disappointed the Premier would boycott 451,000 Queenslanders who rely on this industry for their jobs”.
“Today is the largest gathering of the mining industry in Queensland,” he said. “The mining industry and the resources sector is Queensland’s biggest export industry, and biggest regional employer. And I think it’s poor form for her to turn this into a boycott when all we really want to do is sit down and talk to them.”
Japanese ambassador Shingo Yamagami was the keynote speaker and addressed the lunch virtually, and has been repeatedly critically outspoken on the hike given Japan is a key trading partner.
“Japanese companies’ eagerness to collaborate with their Australian counterparts in resources is underpinned by trust in Australia as a safe and reliable place to invest,” he said.
“This is why decisions like the Queensland government’s coal royalty hike carry so much potential risk.
“It could have implications beyond Queensland or the coal industry, affecting Japanese investment in joint ventures such as the hydrogen hubs.”
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