Greens Pledge to Set Up State-Owned Mining Company, Includes Indigenous Worker Quota

Three .9999 fine gold bars, 400 troy ounces or 28 lbs each, with a combined value of more than USD 2 million, are displayed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) in Washington, on Aug. 27, 2012. PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images

The Queensland branch of the left-wing Greens party have pledged to set up a state-owned mining company near a major mining town in the state’s north-west.

The proposal would be funded by increasing coal and gas royalties, estimated to net $4 billion (US$2.6 billion). The company will also need to make sure 15 percent of its workforce is comprised of Indigenous employees.

The state Member for Maiwar Michael Berkman took to social media on Sept. 11 to announce the move.

“It'll invest in critical minerals and return the profits to Queenslanders,” he wrote.

The proposed “Queensland Minerals” would focus on minerals essential to the net zero transition including zinc, cobalt, copper, lead, and gold. It will be based in the North West Minerals Province (NWMP) near Mount Isa.

“The Greens would amend Queensland law to ensure that Queensland Minerals receives first priority for any new exploration and mining licences for critical minerals in the NWMP, secured via changes to state legislation,” the party wrote in a statement on their website.

The Greens claim Queensland Minerals would return 100 percent of profits to the public.

The party also says there are $500 billion worth of critical mineral deposits in the NWMP, including $215 billion in zinc, which is used in building wind turbines, $119 billion worth of copper, and $104 billion worth of lead, which is used in batteries.

Silver, graphite, vanadium, rhenium, molybdenum, and rare earth elements will also be sought under the plan.

In their statement, the party claims nations such as Norway, Sweden, Chile, and India have all benefited from publicly owned mines that have diverted funds back into their host countries.

The Epoch Times contacted the Greens and Mount Isa’s regional MP Robbie Katter for comment.

Tense Relationship Between Miners and Government

The move comes as Australia’s Mineral Council—the peak body for mining—has openly criticised the policies of the current government

At an annual conference, Minerals Council CEO Tania Constable said the Albanese government’s “reckless” industrial relations laws would impact the industry, as well as high energy costs and environmental regulations.

“Each new regulation, each new tax, additional layer of complexity, and arbitrary decision makes it harder for us to compete against competitors with no such constraints,” she said.

Last month, New South Wales Labor Premier Chris Minns stepped in to try salvage a proposed $1 billion New South Wales gold mine after federal Labor Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek actioned section 10 under the Aboriginal Heritage Act to prevent the use of Belubula River for a tailings dam.

Mining company Regis Resources said the order put the mine in limbo with uncertainty around alternative plans and approvals.

Minns responded by promising any alternative plans would be approved quickly by the state.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, also in attendance at the Minerals Council conference, promised to slash the power of environmental groups who might stand in the way of future mining projects.

“A government that I lead will not allow activists to dictate economic policy and to pull the handbrake on our prosperity,” he said.