The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has warned that a tax on mining will put Australia’s economic recovery at risk, amid speculation that the Federal Government was considering a new tax on gas and thermal coal companies.
Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has shut down this speculation, saying that while a price cap on gas to help rein in east coast electricity prices was still on the table, the government was not considering a mining tax.
Mr Albanese said he would only be looking at sensible proposals to address rising electricity prices
The MCA said a mining tax would have dangerous consequences that would only exacerbate the cost of living crisis that is hitting Australians hard, hurting the very people the government is trying to help – households and small business owners.
According to the MCA, a mining tax would mean the following:
- More job losses at a time when families are doing it tough
- Less investment at a time when the Australian economy needs bolstering
- More risk to the viability of power plants
- Less tax revenue for schools, hospitals and infrastructure
More than 85 per cent of Australian coal is exported into the international market, where prices remain elevated, with the remainder supplied to the domestic market at a significantly lower contract or spot price to generate electricity. The MCA said this has nothing to do with finding an answer to rising electricity prices.
According to the MCA, the rising wholesale price of electricity is being exacerbated not by the price of coal or the lack of supply, but the reduction in availability of baseload generation, labelling a mining tax a “lazy approach to policy and politics which will always have perverse outcomes”.
