2015-11-26
The Palaszczuk Government is again putting mining companies above regional communities by cutting the amount of money mining companies pay to guarantee that mines are properly rehabilitated.
With the government's change, mining companies no longer have to pay GST of 10 per cent on the rehabilitation bonds they lodge with the State Government.
"Queensland Labor is letting big mining companies get away without cleaning up their own mess and leaving regional communities to deal with it instead," Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens mining spokesperson, said.
"The Palaszczuk Government is letting big mining companies, especially thermal coal companies, get away with packing up and leaving workers, taxpayers and the environment in the lurch.
"The independent Queensland Audit Office has only recently warned that Queensland is at risk of massive liabilities because the government doesn't have enough money in the bank to cover the clean-up costs.
"The State government should urgently increasing rehabilitation bonds to cover the costs of a clean-up and secure the thousands of rehabilitation jobs if the mining companies abandon their liabilities.
"Thermal coal is in structural decline, so coal companies are under unprecedented financial stress, with many at risk of bankruptcy.
"Coal miners Peabody Energy who own six coal mines in Queensland have lost 96% of their share price value in just five years.
"Queensland's failure to secure thousands of rehabilitation jobs by holding vastly adequate rehabilitation jobs is a disastrous failure of regulation," Senator Waters said.
The Greens' Caring for Coal Workers policy for securing thousands of rehabilitation jobs by securing rehabilitation bonds up-front was released in September 2015.