THE Queensland Resources Council has today repeated its call for a bipartisan commitment to a Resources Industry Development Plan to deliver more jobs, more investment and more exports for the state’s COVID-19 recovery.

“During COVID-19, QRC’s member companies kept the 372,000 Queensland men and women employed in, and because of the resources sector, safe, working and earning,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.

“We’re pleased the Queensland Government has acknowledged the resources sector will be important to the COVID-19 recovery. We now need a firm pre-election commitment the Government will work with our sector to grow and help Queensland recover stronger and sooner.”

Mr Macfarlane said the industry development plan would focus on how to:

• expand the availability of land for mineral and energy resource exploration, development and production;
• strengthen export partnerships, create new resource export markets and increase development of advanced manufacturing and renewable energy in Queensland;
• and work together to identify and develop the skills and training needed for our resources industry and towards opportunities for diversity of employment by increasing the number of women and Indigenous Queenslanders in the industry.

The Resources Industry Development Plan is a key part of the joint QRC- AMEC (Association of Mining and Exploration Companies) Resources Industry Recovery Agenda.

Mr Macfarlane said the QRC was also seeking commitment on behalf of its member companies to streamline assessment and approval processes for resource projects, plus a 10-year hold on royalty rates and thresholds on all resource commodities.

“The LNP has already committed to a 10-year royalty hold at current levels, so we’re looking for the Queensland Government to match this commitment to give potential resource investors greater certainty around development opportunities,” he said.

“While the government has committed to a three-year hold on coal and metals, and a five-year hold on gas and petroleum, we’re looking for a longer-term commitment to match the longer timeframes it takes to plan major resource developments.”

www.qrc.org.au

ends

THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has described the decision to grant the mining lease for Pembroke Resources’ Olive Downs coking coal project in central Queensland as a “critical jobs booster” for the state’s COVID-19 recovery.

“The granting of the mining lease means construction and creation of over 1,000 new jobs in the region can get underway.  These jobs will come just when Queensland needs them the most, with the state’s unemployment forecast to increase to 9 percent due to COVID-19,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.

“Olive Downs had been well advanced before COVID-19 with the Queensland Government announcing its approval in May 2019, and its progression to construction could not have come at a better time for Queensland.

“The mine is expected to provide much needed local stimulus during COVID-19 recovery, with up to 500 jobs during construction and over 1,000 new jobs when the project reaches full operation.

“New resource projects, like Olive Downs, deliver for Queensland. The QRC will continue to work to ensure the comprehensive and transparent assessment and approval processes for these projects are streamlined to secure the jobs, investment, exports and royalties for Queensland as soon as possible.”

Mr Macfarlane said over the last month, QRC had used a public awareness campaign to highlight the 372,000 Queensland men and women working in or because of the resources sector across the State and the $74 billion economic contribution to the state last financial year. 

The mining and gas sector have been a life raft for Queenslanders during COVID, keeping the Queensland economy afloat, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs, particularly in regions hit hard by the impacts on tourism and providing billions of dollars in royalty taxes to pay the wages of nurses, doctors and police.

“Queensland can count on the resources sector to deliver," Mr Macfarlane said. "The resources sector boosts local communities through 14,400 businesses and 1395 community organisations, underpins 80 percent of Queensland’s export sales and pays billions of dollars in royalties to the Government.

“In terms of royalties, Olive Downs has been forecast to deliver more than $5 billion in royalty payments to the State Government over the life of the project.  That will help future Queensland Government deliver services and infrastructure for all Queenslanders.”

www.qrc.org.au

ends

THE CARAVAN INDUSTRY Association of Australia has welcomed the announcement today from the Federal Government of a $250 million regional Australia package with $150 million specifically for tourism and infrastructure projects to assist regional tourism.

Caravan Industry Association of Australia CEO Stuart Lamont said the caravan and camping industry was much loved by Australians, and with the desire for tourists to "control their own environment" the industry was "poised to help in the immediate recovery of regional tourism as caravanners and campers travel further and for longer as Australians look to explore our own backyard". 

Visitor expenditure by caravanning and camping tourists already contribute over $10 billion annually with a significant amount of this dispersed across regional and rural Australia, supporting local jobs and contractors.

Mr Lamont said, "We have a real opportunity for Australians to rediscover the attractions and experiences which are plentiful in regional Australia, but which are under real threat without government support.

“The tourism industry has been savaged through a winter of COVID off the back of a summer of bushfires.  While we have seen recent green shoots in concentrated regions, many tourism industry businesses (and those businesses which rely on tourism) continue to be on their knees.  We are in a feast or famine situation at present with some of our most significant tourism regions hardest hit with the challenges of 2020.

“With many of Australia’s tourism icons located in the regions, and international travel off the cards for some time yet, today’s announcement is a significant boost for domestic tourism, while encourages the development of important tourism infrastructure which will underpin the industry when normal travel returns.” 

On World Tourism Day, Mr Lamont said this announcement supported the theme Tourism and Regional Development and is consistent with the Caravan Industry Association of Australia’s calls for shovel-ready tourism projects to be supported in regional Australia. 

"These projects will not only introduce or upgrade important long-term assets but will encourage the use of local contractors, local accommodation, and the use of local services during construction," Mr Lamont said. "With caravan and camping in 2019 being the number one commercial accommodation provider in regional Australia, today’s announcement provides some level of optimism for operators still reeling from huge losses from touring markets.

“Caravan parks, for several years, have been developing the accommodation experiences available which has brought new markets on board and led to record numbers in 2019.  This announcement from the government will help businesses return faster to the lofty heights set in 2019,” Mr Lamont said.  

“Tourism is such an important social and financial contributor to regional and rural communities, and it will be important to make sure funding from today’s announcement is equitably spread and provided for immediately to get this money flowing through the system.    

"Caravan Industry Association of Australia looks forward to engaging with the Federal Government regarding the eligibility and appropriation of this important initiative."

www.caravanindustry.com.au

ends

THE Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has welcomed the Federal Government's announcement of additional funding for the tourism industry but remains concerned by a lack of specific funding to support the businesses which deliver international visitors to Australia.

The government package will bring some desperately needed support to major, mostly internationally focused, tourism businesses across regional Australia but support is still needed to ensure the inbound tour operators (ITOs) who supply international visitors to these areas survive.

“ITOs are essential to the export tourism supply chain and are a vital part of the fabric of our connection to the global tourism marketplace,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said. 

“Without ITOs many of these regional tourism businesses would have never had the level of international visitation that has helped them to build their product and if ITO businesses disappear, the long term viability of these regional tourism businesses is questionable too.

“Right now support to enable tourism businesses to better connect with domestic visitors will be very welcome but their previous success was built on having a mix of international and domestic visitors with international visitors making a stronger contribution to the bottom line – they simply stay longer and spend more.

“Australians just don't travel the same way or spend on the same things as international visitors and in the long run these businesses will need to turn back to their international market for survival and they will typically do this in partnership with inbound tour operators, their international distribution partners.

“The export tourism industry has a complex supply chain which relies on business relationships which have been forged over decades and ITO businesses have been the platform on which Australia has grown its annual tourism export earnings to over $45bn annually," Mr Shelley said.

“We know many of our regional tourism supplier members will be very happy to see this funding, but there remains many gaps in the solution and many tourism businesses will still be looking for help.  Businesses in metropolitan areas which have seen their business grind to a halt, ITOs which have had no income since February and those businesses which fall outside of the funding guidelines. Twelve months ago they were all viable and today they face extinction through no fault of their own.”

Mr Shelley said the funding will be welcome in the short term but will be quickly exhausted given the extent of need within the industry.  ATEC has been calling on the Federal Government to establish a long term, well-funded strategically focused tourism resilience fund which will provide layers of support to assist recovery and restart of our industry over the next three years.

"Earlier this year we saw the government announce a sizeable $1bn fund for tourism as part of its initial COVID stimulus package, funding which was quickly allocated to supporting large infrastructure like regional airports.

“While we recognise the importance of these priorities, many tourism businesses are struggling to survive and many have completely shut down their operations, exasperated by the uncertainty of state border closures. Over the past decade Australia’s export tourism industry has delivered more than $350bn in export earnings to our economy and this success has supported one in 12 jobs and has been the lifeblood of many regional communities," Mr Shelley said.

“Recognising the importance of international visitors to the future of regional tourism operators ATEC continues to urge the government to directly address the survival of the ITO sector and look to provide support in the upcoming Federal Budget.”

www.atec.net.au

ends