A new report by the Australia Institute reveals Queensland’s mining royalties regime is essentially giving subsidies to exporters of low-quality thermal coal.
The new report details how the staggered system in Queensland has low-value coal taxed at a lower rate, which acts to incentivise thermal coal mines such as Adani’s Carmichael project.
Australia Institute research director Roderick Campbell says this regime is a “pretty bad result” from economic and climate perspectives, particularly without widespread carbon prices to reflect the damage costs of burning more low-quality coal.