On Tuesday 1 August, I asked the Treasurer what he planned to do about coal companies paying less in coal royalties.

You can read my question below, or find the full transcript and video link in the official Queensland Parliament Record of Proceedings (Hansard).

Amy:

For the Treasurer: according to the budget, the changes to coal royalties only apply to coal that is sold at super profit levels. That means the Government’s new coal royalties will only account for six per cent of coal royalty revenue by 2024, which is very low.

Is there a plan to increase the base amount of royalties for coal, gas and other resources so that beyond these super profit levels, Queensland can still enjoy these increased revenues?

Treasurer:

[No]

It is a tiered system; it is a progressive system. As prices go up, the state can recover money, at times for very high prices and profits—that is the reality. The government has no plans to change any other aspects of the royalties scheme that are currently in place in Queensland. We do not intend to make any further changes, notwithstanding the vigorous $40 million advertising campaign that is being run against the government by the Queensland Resources Council. As I have said publicly, we will not be changing those royalty tiers by one cent or one percentage because Queenslanders deserve to benefit from those record high prices.

As prices moderate, of course we will be mindful of how those companies operate in the state and so there will not be any change to the tiers as they currently exist. The tiers remain frozen, which was a promise we made to the resources industry—a freeze will apply for 10 years. We did not come to government, like the LNP, consult with no-one at any time ever and drop new royalties in our first budget. That is what happened in 2012 and, of course, the member for Mermaid Beach and the member for Maroochydore know what it is like to drop that change on the coal industry without any reference at all. We do not intend to change any aspect of what we are doing with coal royalties. We think we are getting a sufficient and fair return for Queenslanders, which is all we were ever planning to do.