Queensland Resources Council (QRC) Chief Executive Michael Roche said the Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review announcement of $370 million in new charges by 2014-15 was predicated on a flawed assumption that minerals and energy companies are bottomless cash pits.

‘Most small to medium explorers and developers operate on shoestring budgets because of the high-risk nature of their activities,’ Mr Roche said.

‘These are the people the state government has previously said it wants to encourage but again has shown no hesitation in loading them up with new charges, this time in the form of permit and tenure transfer charges.’

Mr Roche said despite the lasting impacts of last summer’s floods and continuing global economic uncertainty, the Queensland resources sector was expected to deliver a near record return of $3.1 billion in royalties to Queenslanders in 2011-12 and a predicted $13.3 billion over the four years of the forward estimates.

www.qrc.org.au