THE Queensland Government could raise much-needed revenue by revamping the way it collects resources royalties from miners, according to a QUT economist. 

Dr David Willis, from QUT Business School, said with the State Government preparing to hand down its first budget in July, it must focus on ways to raise revenue.

"While the options available are limited, the government must relook at the income it recovers from miners and gas producers throughout the state to find the best value for Queenslanders," he said.

"Currently the royalties system is based on the price of a tonne of coal or iron ore. But this is clearly deficient given the miners' strategy of overproducing and oversupplying the market to force prices down to artificially low levels.

"Larger miners with larger shares of the coal, gas and iron ore markets employ this strategy to try to maximise production and market share and at the same time pay less in royalties.

"We are presently running record production numbers but getting record low prices. This suits the big miners but not the state or country. It is hurting Queensland and depriving the government of revenue it needs to fund services."

Dr Willis said an overhaul of the royalty system was a better strategy than simply raising royalties.

"While not advocating raising the royalties level, although there is a case for it, it makes more economic sense to look at a two-tier system for managing this important revenue stream," he said.

"Queensland and the other states need to look at royalties based on an average tonnage shipped as well as royalties per price, with the miners paying whichever is higher at the time.

"Therefore, whatever miners produce past a certain price point, they pay for based on tonnage. This allows for slumps in commodity prices and puts a valuable floor under royalties revenue that doesn't currently exist.

"So if, as is occurring now, miners are overproducing on to a falling demand market, Queenslanders would not be the ones to take the financial hit."

www.qut.edu.au

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CHIEF Executive Mark Stone said VECCI welcomes the release of Infrastructure Australia’s Australian Infrastructure Audit Report.

"The report contains a comprehensive and strategic assessment of Australia’s infrastructure, including current and prospective gaps across a range of infrastructure areas including transport, energy, telecommunications and water," Mr Stone said.

"The audit provides a compelling case to all governments that infrastructure reform must be a priority if we are to raise economic competitiveness and living standards.

"With a strong evidence based assessment of the key drivers of future infrastructure demand, especially population and economic growth, the report calls for a series of infrastructure related reforms to raise productivity and strengthen the economy."

These include:

• Better and more integrated infrastructure and land use planning.
• Further market reform, particularly in the transport and energy sectors.
• Increased infrastructure funding, encouraging more investment from the private sector in partnership with governments.      
• Improved governance in infrastructure planning and decision making.
• Changes by governments to make major project procurement more efficient, including reducing administrative burdens and streamlining assessment processes.
• More transparent links between user charges and expenditure on infrastructure planning, investment and maintenance. 

"Importantly, the report highlights the need to extract more value from our existing infrastructure assets through efficient management, improved maintenance and smarter use of technology," Mr Stone said.

"It also reinforces the benefits of a strong and consistent pipeline of well-planned infrastructure projects.  Such a pipeline is crucial to providing confidence and certainty for private sector infrastructure developers and investors.

"VECCI welcomes the report’s call for wider and deeper community engagement throughout the infrastructure decision making process.  In support of the development of the Australian Infrastructure Plan, VECCI will be making a submission on the findings from the audit following close consultation with our members."

The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) is the most influential business organisation in Victoria, informing and servicing more than 15,000 members, customers and clients around the state.

vecci.org.au

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BRISBANE Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has launched the 10^th annual Lord Mayor’s Business Awards, with nominations now open.

“The 10th annual Lord Mayor’s Business Awards will celebrate the achievements and contribution made by our business community to Brisbane’s economy,” Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said at the City Hall launch.

“The international spotlight is firmly fixed on Australia’s New World City, following our successful hosting of the G20 Summit in November 2014 and ahead of the Asia Pacific Cities Summit in July this year.

“The Lord Mayor’s Business Awards highlight why an increasing number of decision-makers worldwide are choosing Brisbane for business, investment, study and conventions.”

“By celebrating the excellence, success and innovation that hallmarks the Brisbane business community, we are promoting the message that Brisbane is an ideal city in which to invest, expand and, most importantly, live."

Cr Quirk said he was hoping to see more nominations from emerging small to medium businesses that are contributing to the success of Brisbane’s business economy.

“We now need a new set of young, energetic business minds to join us as Brisbane takes its place on the world stage and cements its reputation as an emerging, exciting, and rewarding city in which to do business.

“I encourage all Brisbane businesses to enter this year’s Awards so we can honour their role in making Brisbane what it is today; a city internationally recognised for its depth of innovative and fresh, original talent.

“I would also like to thank our 2015 sponsors, without their support these awards would not be possible.”

The 2015 winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner on Friday 30 October, where they will join LMBA winners from past years.

There are 11 award categories in total, with eight open to businesses:

• Australia TradeCoast Award for Small Business Growth
• Brisbane Times Award for Business Innovation
• Award for Digital Strategy
• Clayton Utz Award for Corporate Citizenship
• ANZ Made in Brisbane Award for High-growth Business Start-Up
• Energex Award for Sustainability in Business
• HSBC Award for Doing Business in Asia
• Award for New Investment 

And two awards open to individuals, including:

• Young Business Person of the Year Award
• Channel 7 Business Person of the Year Award

 One outstanding category winner (chosen from a business award winner):

• Optus Business Platinum Award

 Key dates

• Tuesday 19 May - Nominations open
• Friday 24 July - Nominations close at 5pm
• Early September - Finalists announced
• Friday 30 October - Gala Dinner and winners announced

www.lmba.com.au

www.brisbanemarketing.com.au

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Following the Federal Government’s announced abolition of the tax-free threshold on income earned by working holiday makers (WHM), the Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) has called on the government to act to ensure labour availability is spurred in the tourism industry.

“Cafes, restaurants, hotels and operators throughout our industry already face labour shortages. Last week’s announcement will be a disincentive for working holiday makers, who are a long-staying international market and an important labour source for our industry,” said VTIC Chief Executive Dianne Smith.

“The taxation change must be accompanied by measures that make it more attractive and easy to stay in Australia so this significant group of travellers doesn’t abandon us.”

Measures to boost working holiday numbers include:

- Giving WHM who work in regional tourism and hospitality businesses (for three months or more) eligibility for a one-year visa extension. 

- Increasing the qualifying age upper limit from 30 to 35 years, in line with international norms. 

- Removing the six-month cap on employment duration with a single employer. 

- Allowing WHM who have finished a working holiday to apply for a second visa. (One between 18-25 years of age and a second from 26-35 years of age). 

“There is great opportunity for the government to improve the working holiday maker visa program and help address the tourism and hospitality labour shortage, particularly in regional Victoria,” said Ms Smith.

“We call on the Federal Government to support our industry by adopting these changes to make Australia an increasingly attractive destination for working holiday makers.”

The Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) is the peak body for Victoria’s tourism and events industry, providing one united industry voice.

Tourism and events are growth industries for Victoria and contribute $19.6 billion to the state economy each year and employ more than 200,000 people.

vtic.com.au

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