The Palaszczuk government has reportedly made a deal to give away $320 million dollars-worth of the state’s coal, for free, to an Indian mining giant. 

The Adani project and government assistance:

• $320 million dollars in free coal in the form of a reported ‘royalty holiday’ deal.
• $900 million dollar subsidised loan to build a coal-only railway to the mine
• Unlimited free water

Queensland Labor appears to be continuing Campbell Newman’s policy, which proposed offering Adani:

A ramp-up to full royalty for an initial period, on the normal coal royalty payable and based on a sliding scale. 

“Adani is being given the royal treatment, and the Queensland taxpayer is on the hook for the bill,” Research Director of The Australia Institute, Rod Campbell said. 

“‘Royalty Holidays’ are polite speak for ‘free coal’. The resources under the ground belong to the people and they can only be dug up once. Giving them away for nothing is economically reckless. 

“Not only is this an economic disaster, but the obvious environmental impact of a project that would release more carbon than entire countries,” Campbell said. 

Jobs

Adani and a number of Australian politicians continue to contradict evidence given by Adani’s own accountant, under oath, that the mine would produce just 1,464 jobs – including direct and indirect employment. Since that admission, the miner has announced, to shareholders, ‘everything will be autonomous from mine to port’. 

The NSW coal industry, including Glencore and the Port of Newcastle has expressed concern about a new taxpayer-subsidised competitor putting downward pressure on coal prices and NSW coal jobs at risk. 

The Australia Institute is still waiting on a response to a Right-to-Information request on the royalty deal.