Article by Dan Jervis-Bardy, courtesy of The West Australian.
The mining industry feels under siege and “punished for its success” as a torrent of “reckless” interventions threaten projects and undermines competitiveness.
That was the warning from Minerals Council of Australia boss Tania Constable, who also hit out at the Federal Government for pursuing industrial relations laws that have brought “conflict to every workplace”.
“And together we won’t shy away from calling this out,” she said in a speech to open Minerals Week in Canberra on Monday.
Addressing a room that included Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Ms Constable said Australia was on the precipice of a critical minerals boom that could reshape its place in the world.
But in a veiled swipe at Labor’s offer of tax production credits and rhetorical support for miners, she argued “all the incentives in the world and choruses of support wouldn’t matter” if basic policy settings weren’t right.
Ms Constable said miners were confronting waves of “restrictive” policy interventions, including “reckless” workplace laws, complex regulatory changes and looming threat of “arbitrary” environmental approvals under the Nature Positive plan.
“You could forgive our industry for feeling like it is under siege, or even punished for its success,” she said, telling Mr Albanese directly the approvals regime must be “sorted out”.
The added burden of high energy prices and geopolitical threats to commodity prices were also combining to undermine the viability of projects and scare off new investment.
“Each new regulation, each new tax, additional layer of complexity, and arbitrary decision makes it harder for us to compete,” Ms Constable said. “It is simplistic to suggest mining can shoulder the burden of this new policy environment.
“Perhaps the more pertinent question is: can Australia afford the consequences if it can’t? We can’t afford to get this wrong.”
The industry showcase comes amid heightened tensions between miners and the Government over new industrial relations laws that have allowed unions to force companies to the bargaining table. “We need the Government to explain why it is so determined to tear up successful workplace arrangements and drag us back to the failed ways of the past,” Ms Constable said.
