By Claudia Williams

Copyright abc

Queensland’s premier has declared he will not break election promises as his government faces pressure from mining companies blaming “unsustainable” coal royalties for job cuts.

In his first State of the State address, Premier David Crisafulli said Queensland is “open for business”, but only for companies who want to be “part of the fabric of who we are”.

“We are not interested in fair-weather friends who come running for the dollars when things are good and then abandon Queenslanders in the name of shareholder interests,” he said.

“When I say we are open for business, it also means we are open to suggestions on how we can improve the investment environment here in Queensland.

His comments were a thinly veiled swipe at mining companies after BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) blamed the impact of high coal royalties as it announced it would cut 750 jobs across its operations last week.

The company also announced its Saraji South mine at Dysart would be mothballed from November and it would assess whether its Central Queensland training academy still stacked up financially.

At the time, BMA asset president Adam Lancey said the decision to pause operations and cut jobs was necessary due to the “combined impact of the Queensland government’s unsustainable coal royalties and market conditions”.

“The simple fact is the Queensland coal industry is approaching a crisis point,” he said in statement.

QCOAL also announced last week that one of its two underground sites at the Cook Colliery mine, near Blackwater, would shut down in the coming weeks.

In a statement, QCOAL said the mine, which employs about 170 people, had been impacted by a number of factors including royalties, with its operation at current levels “unsustainable”.

“Cook Colliery has contributed $25 million in royalties to the Queensland government since its March 2022 reopening despite never making a profit,” it said in a statement.

Peak body says sector has support the state for decades

The Labor government introduced the lucrative royalties scheme for mining and petroleum, including coal, in 2022.

Mr Crisafulli promised the scheme would not change under the LNP during last year’s election campaign.

The coal royalties regime’s three tiers has miners paying more as coal prices go up — 20 per cent at $175 per tonne, 30 per cent at $225/t and 40 per cent when prices topped $300/t.

The Queensland Resources Council has called for the state government to urgently reform coal royalties to protect jobs and the state’s economy.

Chief executive Janette Hewson said the sector had supported the state for decades through both the good and bad times in the market cycles.

“Through royalties and taxes paid by our resources industry, all Queenslanders benefit,” she said.

“This underpins our state’s economic prosperity and enables government to fund the services we all rely on, including hospitals, schools, police and roads.”

In a social media post following the announcement of job cuts, BHP Australia president Geraldine Slattery said Queensland needed to implement “fiscal settings that reward and encourage major investments”.

“What’s missing, and indeed what’s needed, is the courage and vision to reset Queensland’s attractiveness as an investment destination,” she said.