Renewed calls for royalties rethink

A CAMPAIGN sparked over a decade ago to return the millions of dollars in royalties paid by mining companies to the region where the ore is dug up will be reignited at Tasmanian Labor’s state conference.

Late West Coast mayor Darryl Gerrity started his push for a change in the system, which sees the money paid by mining companies to the state government going into general revenue, back in 2008.

He argued the region that is home to almost all the state’s mines needed the money to keep its dwindling population.

The West Coast population has now fallen to under 4500.

In 2017-2018, the Government received over $41 million in royalties payments. About 93 per cent came from three companies: Grange Resources, which mines iron ore at Savage River, MMG which mines lead and zinc at Rosebery and Bluestone Metals, which has a tin mine near Zeehan.

Since, the Henty Gold Mine near Queenstown has reopened, funnelling more into government coffers. The West Coast branch of the Labor Party has put up a motion for a Royalty for Regions program, like that in place in WA, to be introduced in Tasmania if Labor wins government.

“Conference calls upon the Tasmanian Labor Party to investigate adopting a Tasmanian Royalty for Region program for the West Coast in recognition of that area’s contribution to the state economy,” the motion to be debated on August 31 says.

“Conference believes that such a policy could see 25 per cent of all mining royalty payments returned to the West Coast for social and economic investment.”

In 2009, the West Coast Council approached unions to garner support for its push for Tasmania to follow the WA government, which introduced its $670 million Royalties for Regions program.

Then premier David Bartlett was not open to the idea, saying the West Coast would rip itself off in the long term and the government spent $40 million a year on education, health and policing in the region. The Greens pledged support in the 2010 election campaign to return a minimum of $10 million a year to provide better health and housing in mining communities.