It has always been so in recent times. The ALP will lie and obfuscate to gain power and then turn around and say that we must tax more or we can't do that promise.

The people of WA have the government that they voted for and they have it for the next 4 years.

Maybe they are unable to observe the Labor train wrecks beyond the Nullarbor.


WA already on the road to ruin as the miners outwit them just like they outwitted Juliar Gillard the Witch from Wales.

How long before WA Labor gives up and

borrows BORROWS

BORROWS!!!!!

The WA government is hoping to win support from miners for a one-off payment.
PAUL GARVEY Resources reporter Perth PAIGE TAYLOR WA Bureau Chief Perth The Australian 12:00AM May 29, 2017


BHP, Rio mines to fend off tax grab by WA government

Billions of dollars worth of new iron ore developments are shaping as the key bargaining chips for BHP and Rio Tinto as the mining giants attempt to repel a surprise tax grab from the new West Australian government.

BHP and Rio have taken significant steps towards approving their respective South Flank and Koodaideri iron ore developments in recent weeks, after the Mark McGowan-led Labor Party came to power in March.

But while Labor staunchly opposed a $5 a tonne tax hike proposed by the Nationals ahead of the election, the new government last week flagged in parliament that it was considering approaching the miners for a one-off lump-sum payment.

In return for the payment, the government would extinguish the contentious 25c a tonne production rental levy at the centre of the Nationals’ tax proposal.

It is understood WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt is scheduled to meet with BHP and Rio this week, with the new proposal likely to top the agenda.

The new plan from Labor echoes that briefly put forward by then-premier Colin Barnett as a possible solution to the iron ore tax controversy in the lead-up to the election. Mr Barnett’s proposal for a lump-sum payment was swiftly rejected by the miners, with the McGowan government likely to face a similar challenge.

Mr McGowan yesterday said his government’s plans would be reliant on winning the support of the miners. “To do this requires the agreement of the state and the companies and also the Commonwealth needs to agree to it being exempt from the GST distribution system and at the end of it, it has to be in the interests of taxpayers,” Mr McGowan said.

Asked why the miners would consider such a deal, Mr McGowan said an agreement could allow the miners to resolve the production rental issue once and for all. “Sometimes it’s in their interests to remove something that they may regard as being subject to National Party attention in the future.”

Mr McGowan confirmed plans put forward would only apply to BHP and Rio, with the state’s other miners — such as Fortescue Metals Group, which will become eligible to pay the rental levy early in the next decade — still subject to the charge. The sudden re-emergence of the tax issue came as both companies took steps to ­advance new iron ore projects that had come under a cloud when the Nationals’ $5 a tonne policy was in play.

Rio last week announced it would spend $US30.9 million on a feasibility study for its Koodaideri iron ore mine, which the company previously estimated could cost about $US2.2 billion to develop.

BHP’s iron ore boss Edgar Basto said after the election that the company’s South Flank project was on a stronger footing, noting at the time that the new government indicated “a return to a more stable investment environment in WA”.

Nicole Roocke, deputy chief executive of the CME, called on the government to engage directly with the companies rather than unilaterally change state agreements that govern their projects.

“The two companies are already making a very large contribution to WA through royalties, taxes, jobs and economic development,” Ms Roocke said.

“We have seen positive announcements in recent times regarding developments for these companies which will see them further support WA’s economy going forward.”

She said the government should instead support the mining industry’s call for 25 per cent of mining royalties to be quarantined from GST calculations, which would see WA receive a greater share of the GST carve-up.

Nationals MP Vince Catania accused the Labor Party of hypocrisy, given its opposition to the iron ore tax during the election campaign.

“We were prepared to lose skin and risked our political future to be open and honest with the people of WA, whereas WA Labor just lied to get themselves elected to government, knowing full well that they would ditch their promises,” Mr Catania said.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/bhp-rio-mines-to-fend-off...