The Greens NSW have today welcomed Labor’s long overdue announcement that they intend to review the royalty rates applied to coal extracted from NSW coal mines.
The Greens NSW took a of increasing coal royalties to the most recent election as a fair and equitable way to capture windfall profits from the fossil fuel industry, which if implemented at the time would have brought in tens of billions of dollars of much needed additional revenue.
As stated by Abigail Boyd, Greens NSW Spokesperson for Energy and Treasury, Finance and Economy:
“The fossil fuel industry has made hundreds of billions of dollars out of their cosy relationship with governments. Today’s announcement proves that, if there’s one election promise Labor are determined to keep, it’s the one they made to the fossil fuel billionaires.
“At a time when fossil fuel companies were gouging NSW households with extortionate prices, driving households into energy poverty and contributing to surging inflation, Labor made a deal with the devil – signing a pact with coal companies to leave royalty rates at disproportionately low rates to secure an ineffective coal price cap, while warding off a pre-election attack campaign from the deep-pocketed fossil fuel lobby.
“The fact is that NSW has missed out on billions of dollars in additional revenue by failing to follow Queensland and increasing royalties while coal prices were high. We’re now playing catch-up and NSW Labor is going to need to show some courage and lead the country in implementing significantly stronger rates on royalties – that’s what the Greens will be pushing for.
“Despite the whining of the coal industry in Queensland, the sky didn’t fall in for them when royalty rates were increased there. Far from it. They have continued to rake in mega profits while also contributing a much-needed boost to Queensland’s revenue.
“We must ensure that rates are set at a level that recognises and adequately compensates us for the damage these fossil fuel projects have caused and will continue to cause for decades to come as the impacts of their emissions are realised.
“The Greens took a policy of increasing coal royalties to the election. We have warned Labor repeatedly since then that we won’t accept public sector workers not being paid a fair wage, or essential public services and infrastructure not being provided across the State, when they aren’t making the fossil fuel industry contribute their fair share to revenue.
“NSW Labor are in the unenviable position of needing to clean up the last 12 years of Liberal financial mismanagement while also providing real relief from the cost of living crisis. This coming Budget will be their first proper test – will they leave people across our State to struggle or will they make these climate-wrecking corporations pay their fair share.”
