The Rudd government’s commitment to the resource super profits tax rests on its faith in tax architect Ken Henry. But holes in even some of the simplest statements by the Treasury chief have cast doubt over the assumptions underpinning the tax.
Fortescue Metals boss Andrew Forrest said prime minister Kevin Rudd now accepted that the iron ore miner was not fear mongering in warning that the proposed resources super profits tax would prevent 30,000 new jobs being created at its Pilbara operations.
CUTTING through Western Australia’s tangled project approvals process to streamline the development of new mining and infrastructure projects is the core objective of a unique alliance of Western Australian resources consultants.
PLANS by the Environmental Protection Authority to consult with project proponents before finalising the conditions of project approval do not go far enough to streamline the approvals process, the state’s chief mining lobby has warned.
THE introduction of a residential net feed-in tariff to encourage homeowners to switch to renewable energy is expected to spark a rush on roof-mounted solar panels once the scheme takes effect in August.
The development of iron ore resources in the Mid West will require incredible cooperation between government, the private sector and local communities.
PLANNING for the Anketell Point iron ore port near Karratha will proceed unchecked despite the uncertainty caused by the government’s proposed resource super profits tax and the shelved mine development plans of one of its primary users.
BY any measure, the Mid West stands on the brink of an unprecedented level of development and investment, as scores of projects across a range of industries – including mining, energy, transport, and science – jostle for pre-eminence.
THE state government has confirmed it is considering a possible High Court challenge to the constitutionality of the federal government’s proposed resource super profits tax.
The Rudd government has taken the extraordinary step of invoking national emergency powers to launch an advertising blitz aimed at countering miners' fierce campaign against the mining super profits tax.
A SINGLE national oil and gas regulator is back at the top of the agenda for Australia’s energy industry, as the sector looks to rebuild its dented reputation in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico and Montara oil spills.
FRESH uncertainty has emerged over the future of a vital upgrade of power transmission capacity in the Mid West following the release of the state budget last week.
THE door has been left ajar to offer tax concessions to Queensland’s budding coal seam gas-to-LNG industry to offset the impact of the federal government’s controversial resource super profits tax.
QUEENSLAND’S booming coal sector heads Perth resources engineering group Calibre Global’s hit list following a landmark $100 million-plus capital injection from one of the world’s leading private equity investment groups.
The Rudd government's planned super profits tax on the resources sector is "insane" and throwing Labor out of office is the only way to stop it, federal opposition leader Tony Abbott has told the oil and gas industry.
The Northern Territory government has launched a concerted campaign to poach business from Western Australia and rival Perth as a regional oil and gas capital.
Major British private equity firm First Reserve Corporation is to acquire a controlling interest in unlisted Calibre Global in a move to significantly enhance the Perth engineering group's growth plans.
VERVE Energy’s Muja A/B coal-fired power station remains a bigger threat to maintaining air quality around Collie than larger coal-fired developments planned in the region, the state’s environmental watchdog has found.
PERTH broker State One’s online trading service, Amscot Discount Stockbroking, has taken out the top ranking for services aimed at high volume share traders in an annual review of the online share trading sector.
THE casualty toll from the federal government’s planned resources rent tax continues to rise, with a growing number of local miners indicating plans to mothball planned Australian spending.
WESTERN Australia can attain its ambitious target of achieving 20 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, but only if it embraces a broader spread of renewable technologies, delegates at a Perth energy forum have been told.
FOR Victorians eyeing Western Australia’s resources boom with envy, oil and gas giant Woodside Petroleum must represent the most frustrating case of the one that got away.
WESTERN Australia is poised to further boost its global standing in the liquefied natural gas industry by becoming the world leader in revolutionary floating production facilities able to unlock trillions of cubic feet of previously stranded gas.
The behaviour of Australian companies working overseas is under renewed scrutiny following news of an investigation into BHP Billiton for possible corruption.
MULTIPLE reviews of the state energy sector are creating widespread uncertainty that could threaten future investment, according to the state’s chief independent regulator.
A FRESH attack on the Rudd government’s proposed emissions trading scheme has added weight to calls for the existing proposal to be scrapped and redrawn.
