YOU CAN’T # STOP ADANI
Breakthrough deal puts Adani back on track. Memo to Green extremists...
ADANI will pay deferred royalty charges, with interest, for coal extracted at its $ 16.5 billion Carmichael mine after a new deal was struck by the State Government in a snap Cabinet meeting yesterday. The Adani board is now expected to resolve to proceed at its next meeting.
INDIAN mining conglomerate Adani will not be offered a “royalty holiday” but will instead have their payments deferred and be charged interest, putting money back into taxpayers’ pockets sooner.
The new Labor Government deal was pushed through a snap Cabinet meeting late yesterday afternoon where it was passed unanimously.
The new policy will help secure the future development of the Galilee and Surat basins and the North West Minerals Province.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the policy would unlock new jobs and new business opportunities.
“Under this new policy, the Adani Carmichael mine will pay every cent of royalties in full,” she said.
“There will be no royalty holiday for the Adani Carmichael mine.”
The Premier said opening the three regions for development had the potential to support thousands of new jobs that were needed in regional centres along the coast as well as in the Outback.
“This will squeeze every dollar and every job out of these projects,” she said.
“My sole focus this week has been to lead negotiations that ensure Queenslanders get the best deal that will see more jobs and more money flowing into our state.”
The royalty rate negotiations had caused a major split within the Palaszczuk Government, which pitted the Left and several members of the Old Guard against the Right and Treasurer Curtis Pitt.
Deputy Premier Jackie Trad – the most senior Left faction member – said the new royalty policy delivered on Labor’s election commitments.
“All royalties will be paid and if they are deferred they will be paid with interest and with security of payment in place,” she said.
“That’s more money for our state to spend on infrastruc- ture, renewables, health and education.”
Adani spokesman Ron Watson said the company was advised of a strategy going to Cabinet.
“There has been ongoing contact at senior level with Adani this week and it has been handled professionally,” he said.
“These deliberations will obviously benefit not just Adani but the tens of thousands of people in regional Queensland. This is the first major mining venture in Queensland for many years and it will open up a new field that has the potential to generate billions of dollars and many thousands of jobs.”
Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan said while the policy was welcome news, the Labor Government needed to explain to the Queensland people how they let “this mess get out of hand”.
“It’s welcome that finally they have a policy but it’s their chaos that has delayed an opportunity for North Queenslanders to get a job by months,” he said.