Editorial: Miners caught in political games

It is astonishing Treasurer Cameron Dick felt it prudent to introduce frivolous legislation that does little more than wedge the Opposition months out from an election, writes the editor.

Treasurer Cameron Dick during Question Time on Thursday. Picture: Glenn Campbell/NCA NewsWire

There are still five months to election day but – believe it or not – State Parliament only has three more weeks of sitting scheduled between now and then.

This is why it is astonishing that with so little time to spare Treasurer Cameron Dick felt it prudent to introduce frivolous legislation that does little more than wedge the Opposition months out from an election.

And, in his pursuit for political pointscoring, Mr Dick has again angered the resources industry – a sector that pumped $116.8bn into the state’s economy as of the latest figures from the Queensland Resources Council.

Newly minted QRC chief executive Janette Hewson slammed the government for using the sector to “play political games”.

She warned these laws would achieve nothing for Queenslanders apart from make the state even less competitive when it comes to attracting investment in those new resources projects that will drive future jobs and economic benefits.

What these laws do in practical terms is set a floor for a coal royalty rates, meaning a future government can raise the rates by simply tweaking regulation.

But if they want to charge coal companies less, it must be done through changes in law.

Mr Dick argued this was to ensure any lowering of the thresholds would be done in full view of the public.

Effectively it means what Mr Dick did in 2022 – adding a third tier to Queensland’s coal royalty regime without consulting the industry – would still be allowed.

As this publication stated in August 2022, to not even consult with an industry that provides so many jobs to Queensland is not only arrogant, but unprofessional.

Ms Hewson also bemoaned the latest lack of consultation saying “once again, we have seen the Queensland government make a significant change affecting the resources sector without any notification to, or consultation with, the industry”.

Mr Dick denied he was using the resources sector as a political plaything, but in the same breath confirmed the laws only existed to protect his government’s “progressive coal royalties” from the LNP.

What Mr Dick is trying to do is lure the Opposition into an open debate about their plans for coal royalties.

It’s a case of damned if they do and damned if they don’t. If the LNP votes against it this will fuel the government’s (baseless) attack campaign that the Opposition has an array of cuts planned if they win government.

If the LNP do vote for it, Mr Dick will simply say they can’t be trusted.

He has already indicated as such, saying on Thursday “you can’t trust a single thing that the LNP does, even when they vote for a bill in the parliament of Queensland”.

“As soon as it suits their political needs. They reverse their position and change their position,” Mr Dick said.

The Opposition is not blameless here either.

We might not be in this spot if the LNP had been stronger in explicitly stating their support or otherwise of the coal royalty regime.

To top it all off even the name of the Bill – “Progressive Coal Royalties Protection (Keep Them in the Bank) Bill 2024” – is farcical.

The state government has repeatedly said the cash from coal royalties is being used to pay for infrastructure in the regions, and this week Mr Dick confirmed Queensland would log a $3bn deficit in the upcoming budget.

You can’t keep anything in the bank if you’re spending it all, plus more.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND MORE BANG FOR BUCK

The case of the HMAS Supply is yet another example of a troubled major defence purchase.

As revealed in today’s newspaper the $500m vessel has not left port for 14 months while its manufacturer attempts to fix a major engine fault.

The Navy ship is designed to deliver food, fuel and ammunition to our defence force and clearly can do precious little of that while it is confined to Sydney Harbour.

The defence of Australia is a paramount issue for any government to get right. Today in The Courier-Mail we look at some of the most important issues facing the nation in the defence sphere in a special eight-page liftout.

Concerns about the rise of the Chinese military are fuelling an urgent expansion to our defence forces to plug gaps while we wait more than a decade for the new AUKUS submarines.

Hopefully we will learn vital lessons from the HMAS Supply debacle and get bang for buck from our new equipment.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here

Originally published as Editorial: Miners caught in political games