Media as usual show no understanding of resources industry

I see the resources industry is as usual under attack by the MSM and left biased think tanks which has been going on for decades. This article claims royalties are not a tax and resource companies should not group tax + royalties when showing what they pay Govts. Some say royalties are just a cost input, like Coca Cola buying sugar. Well when you think calmly the two things are very different. If you were a business requiring sugar you might be able to buy from this or that supplier around the world and haggle the best price – or even set up your own sugar plantations to supply your own sugar – or you might seek to use a sugar substitute – or even seek to use less sugar – or manufacture a sugar free drink – you have choice.
Not with minerals – you pay the royalty to a State Govt that can hike the rate at will. But there is a worse misunderstanding. The State Govt never “gave our minerals” to the mining company. The State (with rare exceptions) does not know exactly where the minable orebodies are. Some resources company had to conduct expensive and risky mineral exploration for probably the best part of a decade – with no guarantee of discovering a payable orebody – all the while badgered by green and red tape from multiple idiot Govt Depts – green lawfare from NGO’s often supported by taxpayer money – with long suffering shareholders periodically dipping into their savings to raise exploration funds. Thats the reality of mineral exploration and out of that process many companies go broke, a few mineable orebodies are found, then Govt holds out their hand for a royalty on production and now people who are anti the resources industry say the royalty is not similar to a tax. Spare me.
BTW I am not in favour of companies who do business in Australia yet set up entities outside Australia with the aim to reduce tax here.

5 thoughts on “Media as usual show no understanding of resources industry”

  1. As per usual the MSM choruses the SJW Green Leftard Mantra.

    However they still turn on the light, drink milk , eat bread & go to the doctor.

    They will NEVER accept how many of the things that allow their standard of living & lifestyle to persist comes from the ground.

    ~~ 1/2 to 5/8 of our foreign earnings comes from the resource sector & it can be seen here irrespective of how mendaciously
    the RBA presents the graph:-

    www.rba.gov.au/chart-pack/balance-payments.html

    It is high time a few people put away their “Me Too” pink pussey hats & slinky black dresses & faced hard facts.

  2. The Andrews Socialist Left Government of Victoria recently used its resource royalty "taxes" as a blunt instrument to hasten the demise of Hazelwood Power Station.  Not content to simply allow the RET electricity market distortions to take their course, Andrews tripled the coal royalty "taxes" and sooled an army Victorian Worksafe inspectors onto the plant to harass the company.  When the French owners Engie, unsurprisingly, decided enough's enough and cut their losses, we were treated to the spectacle  of Andrews' hand wringing and feigned concern about Latrobe Valley job losses.
    The Green Left fraternity with their love of Lycra, carbon fiber, the latest electronic gadgetry and Subarus aren't very smart when it comes to making the connection between these treasured items and mining/resources.

  3. @wazz

    > “At first glance it looks like a complete disregard of the NEG”

    It is. COAG, and in particular, SA and Vic, have not yet agreed to any NEG concept. The Greens, and their sole HoR rep Bandt, are outright fighting the NEG concept with loud abrasion. The next COAG meeting is April. I suspect Waffle will water everything down to complete pointlessness.

    One cannot have moonbeams and unicorn break-winds subject to accountability.

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