The Australian

Royal Dutch Shell chief executive Peter Voser has called on the government to implement improved tax and regulatory frameworks within the resources sector to allow Australia’s existing pipeline of investments to be developed, particularly as global demand for liquefied natural gas doubles over the next decade. “The policy decisions made today will have a profound effect on your economy and society,” Voser said.

New research from McKinsey & Company shows that …]

The Australian

According to a Newspoll conducted in the week before the federal budget, a huge ninety-six per cent of all Australians believe the mining industry is important to the economy and a further sixty-nine per cent view the mining industry favourably. “I think every person understands that the resources industry is vital to our economic wellbeing and ultimately everybody benefits from a successful resources sector in terms of income, jobs and government revenue,” [...]

The Australian

Glencore Xstrata’s head of global coal assets Peter Freyberg has warned that the coal industry is being “smashed” in Australia. Freyberg said a significant portion of the coal industry was loss-making, and cost-cutting was now a matter of survival in Australia’s unstable investment and policy environment. “Instead of supporting one of Australia’s largest export industries, policymakers at both state and federal level have imposed additional costs, taxes and other burdens at a [...]

The Australian

Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh has urged the government to provide fiscal and regulatory stability ahead of the upcoming federal budget. Walsh marked growing concerns that several arrangements that apply to miners, including tax structures, will come under fire given the projected revenue shortfall. “What we and others need in business is stability… We need to be in a competitive environment,” Walsh said. “Stable fiscal and regulatory frameworks provide the foundation [...]

Many Northern Australian mining regions have become victims of their own success when it comes to housing affordability. However, the large scale displacement of local communities that substantial increases bring can be avoided by simply releasing more land for development.

It is a fundamental principle that limiting supply of a good will raise prices. Nowhere is this truer than in housing. After over a decade of rental and housing increases WA’s LandCorp has finally begun [...]

The Australian

Origin Energy chief executive Grant King has called for a review of the carbon tax and Australia’s renewable energy target, saying they continue to put the country at a competitive disadvantage. “Australia is increasingly standing alone in respect to the level of its carbon pricing, its renewable energy targets. It’s now way out – nowhere near – ahead of the countries with which it competes economically,” King said.

Macquarie Research has …]