Advertisement

Cameron Dick is absolutely right to be casting his net where the big money is

The resources sector is gearing up for a media blitz against the state government over its growing impost on our miners – but Treasurer Cameron Dick and his federal counterpart have few other places to look, writes David Fagan.

Nov 28, 2022, updated Nov 28, 2022
Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick (right) looks on as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (left) addresses a press conference .  (AAP Image/Darren England

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick (right) looks on as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (left) addresses a press conference . (AAP Image/Darren England

If surfing is your bag, then it’s wise to surf where there are waves. If, instead, gardening is your bag, then it’s wise to plant seeds where there is water.

And if you’re the Treasurer of a government saddled with increasing debt and with no appetite for reform that might trouble voters, then it makes sense to go looking for revenue where there is money. That’s your job, that’s the community’s expectation and it’s not difficult to comprehend.

But money, accumulated through risk and effort, is carefully protected – and rarely willingly handed over (although the recent cryptocurrency bubble has me wondering). Miners, raised in the hard knocks school of finding virtual needles in haystacks, are traditionally most protective and vocal of all in keeping what they think is rightfully theirs. In my 40 years of watching, the resources lobby has always defaulted to crying wolf over government imposts – even when it’s making record profits.

The Queensland Treasurer, Cameron Dick, has bought a fight by looking to the booming coal industry as a source for more government revenue. But what choice does he have?

Government costs are rising along with community expectations. And the demographic bubble which sees more of us becoming more expensive to support locks in current spending and above-inflation increases. The increase in public health costs which we were warned three decades ago would be unsustainable are going to continue.

There are other big-ticket items. The community will look to government to fund the necessary but very expensive energy transition needed to meet climate targets. We have committed to an Olympic Games in 2032 with no real idea of the cost of refurbing the centrepiece Gabba stadium.

And then there are the unforeseens: Just last week, the state committed $100 million to teach errant police officers the basic standards of human behaviour when dealing with each other and domestic violence victims they are meant to protect. This is a necessity but has to be funded at either the expense of other programs, borrowings or new sources of revenue.

Cutting programs or managing them innovatively at scale requires political skills of negotiation that are long lost. Borrowings are already at their highest in the wake of loose public sector management and the community support needed through the Covid crisis. So that leaves the need to exploit new revenue lines. Hello King Coal.

This is not solely a Queensland picture but it’s one that frames the Queensland Treasurer right now as the resources sector threatens a $40 million campaign to ward off increases in royalty rates linked to spectacular coal price increases.

My view: the Treasurer would be derelict if he didn’t take the opportunity to raise more revenue from what may be a once-in-a-lifetime (and maybe temporary) increase in the price of coal owned by the people of Queensland and mined under leases granted to the resources companies.

InQueensland in your inbox. The best local news every workday at lunch time.
By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement andPrivacy Policy & Cookie Statement. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Because here’s the question: If the money to run the state’s schools, hospitals, roads, legal system and other programs doesn’t come from the rich coal seam, then where does it come from? More borrowing?

This imbroglio is a test run for what will happen nationally. The Federal Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has flagged the need for a conversation about future taxes. He has the same pressures as the Queensland Treasurer – but add in an expensive National Disability Insurance Scheme, a ballooning pension bill and the need to build our defence capability.
Like the surfer or the gardener, he needs to go looking where he can expect the best results.

He most likely will use next year’s Intergenerational Report, which spells out future challenges, as a platform to launch this “conversation”. But can it be a conversation if its outcome is predetermined and delivered as an ultimatum – as happened with the Queensland royalties increase?

And can you have a conversation if the immediate response is to be shouted down?

There are already enough hints on where the big untapped pots of money lie. Anyone who thinks the very generous superannuation tax concessions will remain into the next decade is dreaming. Equally, the concessions attached to the family home will find their way onto the table.

All of which will make the coal miners’ shouting seem like a dull whisper but one that signals how reform will play out around the nation – loudly and rancorously but unavoidable.

Local News Matters
Advertisement

We strive to deliver the best local independent coverage of the issues that matter to Queenslanders.

Copyright © 2024 InQueensland.
All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy