The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has released its latest State of the Sector report for the June 2022 quarter, with the new data showing the fallout of the Queensland Government’s royalty hike as well as predicting major changes to the sector’s workforce over the next three years as companies accelerate efforts to achieve 30 per cent female participation by 2026.
The report confirms the Queensland Government’s decision to impose the world’s highest royalty taxes on coal producers has hit the resources sector hard, with more than one quarter (27 per cent) of resources leaders expecting to employ less people at existing operations over the next five years as a direct result of the State Government’s royalty hike.
The same survey conducted six months ago found that at that time, no Queensland CEOs expected to cut jobs over the next twelve months and 35 per cent were feeling confident about increasing employment at their operations.
QRC Chief Executive, Ian Macfarlane, said the report confirms the industry’s worst fears about the impact of the government’s higher royalty taxes on future investment plans.
“This latest data shows the State Government’s extra royalty tiers have dramatically impacted business confidence and investment plans across all commodities, not just coal projects,” Mr Macfarlane said.
“The report is a major red flag because it shows how much the royalty hike has hurt Queensland coal projects as well as gas, base metals and critical minerals projects.”
Mr Macfarlane said while it’s not possible for resources companies with established operations in Queensland to relocate mines, new projects or planned expansions of existing sites will be hit hard as companies consider investing in less highly taxed destinations.
The report found that 54 per cent of CEOs believe the likelihood of expanding or upgrading their existing operations has decreased because of the royalty hike.
Additionally, 62 per cent of CEOs said the likelihood of new projects had also fallen, with 38 per cent saying the chance of undertaking new projects had dropped by more than 25 per cent.
Despite coming against the backdrop of a national jobs and skills summit and major skilled worker shortage across the industry, the report did contain some good news, showing that 78 per cent of the state’s CEOs plan to implement new diversity and inclusion programs over the next 12 months.
According to the report, 85 per cent of Queensland CEOs believe a more diverse and inclusive workforce improves staff attraction and retention rates, and 62 per cent believe it boosts business performance, productivity and employee wellbeing.
Mr Macfarlane said the intense competition for skilled workers has helped to accelerate company efforts to recruit more women and people from Indigenous and culturally diverse backgrounds.
“Along with other industries, resources companies have been struggling for some time to fill positions because of border restrictions relating to the pandemic and Australia’s historically low unemployment rate right now,” Mr Macfarlane said.
“The positive out of this for Queenslanders is that new doors are opening for a wider and more diverse section of our community to get a well-paid job in our minerals and energy sector, where they can contribute to our industry’s transition to a lower emissions future.”
According to the QRC’s most recent diversity and inclusion report, the proportion of women in project management roles has more than doubled over the past ten years and now sits at 23 per cent.
Over the past five years, the number of women in trade and operational roles has increased by 37 per cent, representing nearly 14 per cent of these positions.
The report also included a CEO sentiment survey, which found the top three concerns keeping Queensland resources leaders awake at night right now are:
- The global macroeconomy, with some CEOs pointing to a looming recession and the impacts of the Ukraine war as a major concern
- High input costs which has jumped from sixth place to number two since the December 2021 quarter
- The problem of attracting and retaining skilled employees, which has fallen from the number one position for the first time since the June 2021 quarter
