Showing posts with label mining industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mining industry. Show all posts
Friday 4 October 2019
And the climate change denying madness continues in New South Wales
All
those political donations to the Liberal and National parties seem to
be paying off for the Minerals Council of Australia –
$28,800 in 2015-16, $50,645 in 2016-17, $88,700 in 2017-18.
Cheap
at twice the price if this comes to pass…….
The
Guardian, 2
October 2019:
The
New South Wales government is considering legislation that could
limit the ability for planning authorities to rule out coalmines
projects based on the climate change impact of emissions from the
coal once it is burned.
It
comes after a campaign from the NSW Minerals Council over decisions
that have referenced the impact of “scope 3 greenhouse gas
emissions” as a reason for either rejecting a mining project
entirely or for imposing conditions on it.
For
a coalmine, scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions are from the burning of
the coal after it is sold into the market, including overseas.
The
planning minister, Rob Stokes, said it was “not appropriate for
state governments to impose conditions about emissions policies in
other countries”.
He
said the government was looking at a range of options, including
legislation or a new guideline for how planning authorities should
factor scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions into the assessment process.
The
recent decisions include the NSW land and environment court’s
rejection of the Rocky Hill coalmine in February, which cited the
impact the mine would have on climate change, including through the
burning of coal in other countries, at a time when “a rapid and
deep decrease” in global emissions was urgently needed.
In
August, the NSW Independent Planning Commission approved the expanded
United Wambo coal project near Singleton but as a condition said the
coal could only be exported to countries that have ratified the Paris
agreement.
In
September the commission rejected the development of a greenfield
coalmine in NSW’s Bylong Valley, citing the impact the mine would
have on groundwater, agricultural land and on climate change.
The
NSW Minerals Council has since launched attack ads that target the
planning system for “failing the people of NSW”.
In
a statement last week, the council’s chief executive Stephen
Galilee said the decision to launch a campaign came after months of
“warnings to the minister for planning and others in the government
about the risk of the planning system to jobs and investment”.
He
said the situation had reached “crisis point” with the Bylong
Valley decision.
Stokes
said the Minerals Council was one of the stakeholders the government
was consulting in its development of a policy on scope 3 emissions.
“We
are working with key stakeholders, including the federal government,
NSW Minerals Council and consent authorities, to develop a clear
policy direction as quickly as possible to provide certainty to the
community, industry and investors,” he said.
“We
are looking at a range of options including legislation.”
The
consent authorities in this instance include the NSW land and
environment court.
But
environment groups are warning the government not to bow to pressure
from the mining industry. Lock the Gate said the impact of downstream
greenhouse gas emissions “is arguably the most complicated, severe
and lasting environmental impact of NSW’ export coalmines”.
Lock
the Gate coordinator George Woods said the public should also have a
say in how planning decisions address the climate consequences of
coal developments and that should be done through a public hearing
process run by the independent planning commission.
“It’s
disappointing and frankly dangerous for the planning minister to
narrowly consult only with the mining industry on a matter of
profound importance like this,” she said.
“The
mining industry has flexed its political muscle but the government
really needs to address the bigger issue and the public sentiment on
this.”
Elaine
Johnson, the principal lawyer with the Environmental Defenders Office
of NSW, which represented Groundswell Gloucester in the Rocky Hill
case, said if the government was planning changes to the way planning
authorities consider scope 3 emissions, the consultation for that
should be broad and include other key stakeholders such as community
and environment groups.
“The
land and environment court, in the Rocky Hill decision, has confirmed
that it is entirely appropriate for decision-makers to impose
conditions on projects that will contribute to dangerous climate
change in a planning context,” Johnson said.
She
said that was recognised by the independent planning commission in
the United Wambo and Bylong Valley assessments.
“We
would also say that in 2019 we are making planning decisions in a
context which includes advice from the world’s best scientists that
we’re approaching a climate emergency,” she said.
“If
global emissions continue to rise and if serious action is not taken
at all levels of government, by communities and business, the impacts
of dangerous climate change will be catastrophic.”...... [my yellow highlighting]
Monday 22 April 2019
News Corp mastheads back Big Coal during 2019 federal election campaign
These were News
Corp mastheads on 18 April 2019.
Images found @JennaCairney1 on Twitter |
Apparently we
voters don’t understand the role mining has in our country and Murdoch journalists
are eager to pressure politicians on the subject of mining jobs and
taxation revenue which they fear are on the line because these same
politicians might “go weak-kneed at the sight of Stop
Adani hashtags, earrings or stage invasions” [Townsville Bulletin, 18 April 2019, p.2].
I on the
other hand think rural and regional areas know the mining industry rather well
when it comes to jobs and taxes.
According
to the Australian Government Labour
Market Information Portal as of February 2019 the Mining Industry in this country“employs approximately 251,700 persons (ABS
trend data), which accounts for 2.0 per cent of the total workforce. Over the past five
years, employment in the industry has decreased by 5.4 per cent”.
Employment
growth in the industry in the five years to February 2019 was in fact minus
14,400 employees.
Projected
employment growth in the five years to May 2023 is predicted to be 2.4 per
cent.
Not
all mining industry employment is new jobs created by a mining venture either. The
Australia Institute points to the fact that economic modelling done by
Waratah Coal in 2011 found that a single Qld mine would displace 3,000 jobs in
other industries and crowd out $1.2 billion in manufacturing activity.
Australian
Tax Office (ATO) data
for 2013-14 to 2015-16 show that almost 60 percent of corporations in
the energy and resources sector paid zero tax in that period.
This
percentage appears to be something of an industry norm as in 2007-08 ATO data indicated there were
4,290 mining companies operating in Australia and 68.3pc of all these companies
paid no tax.
It is worth
noting that in 2007 the Business Council
of Australia (BCA) calculated corporate tax (as a percentage of profit) at
20pc for the mining industry.
Interestingly,
BCA also stated “taxes collected are negative for the mining industry group
because as major exporters survey participants reported a significant GST
refund which more than offset other taxes collected”.
In 2016-17 BHP Billiton Aluminium Australia Pty Ltd with a total income $1.81 billion for that year paid no tax. Neither did Whitehaven Coal Limited with a total income of $2.39 billion, Claremont Coal Mines Ltd with a total income of $1.01 billion and Ulan Coal Mines Limited with a total income of $1.03 billion - to name just a few examples for that financial year.
In 2016-17 BHP Billiton Aluminium Australia Pty Ltd with a total income $1.81 billion for that year paid no tax. Neither did Whitehaven Coal Limited with a total income of $2.39 billion, Claremont Coal Mines Ltd with a total income of $1.01 billion and Ulan Coal Mines Limited with a total income of $1.03 billion - to name just a few examples for that financial year.
So there we
have it.
An
Australia-wide industry sector which in February 2019 employed less people than
sectors such as Health & Social Assistance (est.1,702,700 persons), Retail
(est.1,284,700 persons), Education & Training (est,1,032,400 persons) and Manufacturing
(est. 872,500 persons) and, has a future growth
projection which makes it unlikely to return even 2015 employment levels.
A sector which also regularly takes tax minimisation to an extreme.
Yet for some
reason voters are supposed to ignore the ramifications of continuing to allow open slather to fossil
fuel mining corporations as climate change impacts begin to bite.
The mining
industry has pulled this sort of stunt before when it fought the proposed Resource Super
Profits Tax which would have applied to mining companies involved in the
extraction of non-renewable resources. It talked up inflated figures for mining employment and tax revenue and quoted the same in industry media releases.
The stakes
for present and future generations were not quite as high nor as urgent then as they are now and it’s time the rapacious mining industry is firmly put in its place by concerned
voters on 18 May 2019 – right at the back of the queue along with those political parties and candidates who blindly support Big Coal and Big Oil.
Australia can't afford politicians of that ilk anymore.
Labels:
coal,
election campaigns,
elections 2019,
mining industry,
News Corp
Friday 1 March 2019
A reminder of just how far the mining industry will go to deny the lack of a social licence and undermine community opposition
ABC News, 19 February 2019:
Lawyers for mining firm
Adani proposed waging "war" on opponents of its controversial
Queensland mine by using the legal system to pressure government, silence
critics and financially cripple activists, according to documents obtained by
the ABC.
The draft copy of
Adani's new law firm's aggressive strategy to bring the Carmichael mine to life
is labelled "Taking the Gloves Off" and outlines a commercial
proposal by AJ & Co to win a multi-million-dollar legal contract with the
Indian mining giant.
In the document, the
Brisbane firm promised to be Adani's "trained attack dog".
The strategy recommended
bankrupting individuals who unsuccessfully challenge Adani in court, using
lawsuits to pressure the Queensland Government and social media
"bias" as a tool to discredit decisionmakers.
In a section called
"Play the Man", it recommended "where activists and commentators
spread untruths, use the legal system to silence them".
It also urged Adani to
hire private investigators to target activists and work "with police and a
criminal lawyer to ensure appropriate police action is taken against
protesters".
"Like a
well-trained police dog, our litigations know when to sit and shake, and when
it is time to bite," the law firm promised.
"To
achieve its commercial goal, Adani needs to accept it is involved in a
war."
Labels:
litigation,
mining industry,
people power
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