Category: Politics & Regulation

Mastermyne Crinum Operations has been fined $7m after being convicted over the death of underground miner Graham Dawson in 2021 at the Crinum mine in Queensland.The District Court of Queensland sentenced Mastermyne Crinum Operations today after a jury in the District Court at Emerald found the company guilty of industrial manslaughter in March.Mastermyne has lodged a Notice of Appeal, with a hearing date yet to be determined.Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) said the case marked the first time an industrial manslaughter charge had been brought under Queensland’s mining safety and health legislation since it came into effect in 2020.Mr Dawson was an experienced underground miner who was killed after the roof of the Crinum mine collapsed and crushed him.It took four days for Mr Dawson’s body to be recovered.At the time of the event, Mastermyne employed and managed the whole production workforce at the Crinum site.A spokesperson RSHQ said they investigated the incident and presented a brief of evidence to the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor.In sentencing, Judge Jeffrey Clarke said Mr Dawson’s death was avoidable and that Mastermyne’s criminal negligence contributed significantly to it.Mining and Energy Union general vice president Stephen Smyth said the conviction was a milestone for justice and accountability.“This conviction sends a powerful message to the industry that negligence resulting in the death of a worker will not go unpunished,” he said.“Workers have campaigned for these laws, and this decision reaffirms that all workers are entitled to a safe and healthy workplace — and also entitled to justice when safety is undermined.”The MEU says its Industry Safety and Health Representatives recommended prosecution after investigations indicated Mastermyne’s strata control systems were inadequate.The union has also raised concerns that the penalty could be covered by Mastermyne’s insurance arrangements and has called for the relevant laws to be amended to prevent this.

The WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has recommended against a proposal to extract sand and limestone from a quarry at Preston Beach.The proposal, from Carlo Doyle’s Haulage, would involve extraction, screening and crushing, as well as grading and maintenance of Preston Beach North Road for haul truck access.The majority of material proposed for extraction would be used for the supply of agricultural lime.WA EPA chair Darren Walsh says the proposed quarry area is bordered on three sides by the Yalgorup National Park, an internationally recognised Class A Conservation Reserve and the second largest National Park on the Swan Coastal Plain.“The natural features of the Park are of high social significance, and the area is a popular recreation and camping destination for nature-based tourism,” he said.“Monthly visitor numbers are upwards of 70,000 during peak holiday periods and a single, unsealed access road made amenity impacts a key consideration during this process.“During what has been an unusually lengthy environmental impact assessment, largely due to the proponent’s delays in providing adequate information, the EPA encouraged the company to take measures to mitigate impacts.“However, while they made an effort to address haulage impacts, adequate mitigation measures were not provided, and it was beyond the proponent’s authority to undertake the management of third party-operated haul truck activities on a public road.”Mr Walsh said such management was necessary to ensure that the public’s enjoyment of the values of the national park was protected.“So in this case the EPA believes that noise and dust from combined quarry operations and truck haulage will result in unacceptable environmental impacts,” he said.Two-way haul truck movements associated with the proposal, seasonally between December and April, were estimated at up to 44 per day for the 20-year life of the quarry, according to the WA EPA.The report is now open for a three-week public appeal period, closing May 21, 2026, with the Minister for the Environment making the final decision on the proposal.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the Federal Government will commit more than $45m across four years in the upcoming Budget to accelerate project approvals under the EPBC Act.Speaking at a WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy event this morning, Prime Minister Albanese confirmed that Federal and State Government approvals will be combined into a single-touch process with the aim of fast-tracking new energy, housing and resources projects.The WA Government has signed an MOU to begin formal negotiations for a bilateral assessment agreement, with a bilateral approval agreement intended to follow.“Twenty years ago, the median approval time for a project under the EPBC Act was 48 weeks,” Prime Minister Albanese said.“When we brought our reforms into parliament, the median timeframe had blown out to 118 weeks.“Too often, that means investors simply walk away, communities miss out on jobs and people miss out on new energy or housing.“We took action to fix this — and we are building on it today.”As part of the upcoming Budget, the Federal Government will contribute $552m toward the $1.1b first-stage upgrade of Anketell Road, with the WA Government matching the funding. The upgrade is intended to reduce traffic and improve safety on Rockingham Road and surrounds whilst also lessening the number of trucks on residential streets.Prime Minister Albanese also provided an update on Australia’s fuel security, confirming the Federal Government had secured 400m additional litres of diesel on top of regular supply.“There is more petrol and diesel supply in Australia today than there was on February 28,” Prime Minister Albanese said.As the conflict in the Middle East enters its ninth week, the Federal Government is prioritising domestic fuel production as part of the upcoming Budget but maintains the importance of Australia’s gas export industry.“The people of Australia have every right to expect Australian gas to be affordable for our economy — for industry and households alike,” he said.“Our gas exports are directly linked to our national fuel security. And the middle of a global fuel crisis is the worst possible time to jeopardise these partnerships, or the investment that underpins them.“This is why I can confirm that the Budget will not undermine existing contracts on gas exports.”The Federal Government will release its official Budget on May 12.

WA miners and explorers affected by fuel security issues are now able to apply for exemptions on minimum expenditure requirements for their tenures.The new policy, enacted by the WA Government, aims to ease the cost burden on local companies amid an ongoing period of elevated fuel prices.Minimum expenditure requirements are a central feature of WA's mining tenure system, intended to promote active exploration and development and deter land banking or tenement warehousing.However, the WA Government recognises that given prevailing fuel security issues, strict compliance with expenditure requirements may be contrary to the interests of the state.WA Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael says the WA Government is committed to easing the burden on its mining sector."I'm acutely aware that the high cost of fuel and in some cases supply issues are creating significant challenges for our exploration and mining sector,” he said.The new policy will be reviewed at the end of 2026.

A new report commissioned by the Mineral Councils of Australia (MCA) Victoria has found that lifting Victoria’s gold production to 1mozpa by 2035 could support more than 10,000 jobs across mining and related services.  The industry body is now calling for policy settings to support a new wave of mine development and exploration.  “Despite the increased price of gold in recent years, production has fallen from its 2021 peak, reinforcing the need for better policies to encourage mining investment and exploration – converting advanced gold projects into new mines,” the MCA Victoria said. “Tripling gold production would also quadruple gold royalties to $188mpa to fund vital services and infrastructure across the state.  “In this context, the Victorian Government should support new mines and increased production, because royalties on increased production will deliver significantly more for all Victorians – especially if a share of royalties is allocated to regions where mines are located. “All parties contesting this year’s Victorian state election should commit to more efficient permitting processes, bringing more royalties back to local communities, investing in geoscience education and incentivising exploration and processing to make the most of Victoria’s mineral endowment and ensure workers share the benefits.” Regional Victoria is identified as a key beneficiary, with existing gold operations in Bendigo, Ballarat and Stawell, alongside prospective developments in Maldon, Kilmore and the Loddon Shire. The report notes Victoria’s historic status as a major gold province and says modern mining practices present an opportunity to expand gold production, provided exploration access, investment setting and permitting processes support development. 

The WA Government has allocated $30m to expand a fee waiver initiative that will support Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia and Covalent Lithium.The initiative will offer a waiver on government fees and charges for the companies until December 31, 2027.WA Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael says Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia and Covalent Lithium have a vitally important role to play in critical minerals processing in WA and are a key component of the EV battery supply chain."The Government believes it is crucial to support these two strategically important businesses while they battle with volatile commodity prices amid a period of rising costs; that's why we decided to extend the crucial fee waiver initiative,” he said."This initiative provides support ahead of the introduction of the Critical Minerals Production Tax Incentive, which provides a 10% rebate on processing costs and comes into effect on July 1, 2027."The WA Government will also commit $5m in funding to develop standards for the reuse of lithium by-product in construction materials, aimed at reducing disposal costs.This follows the WA Government's announcement earlier this month of a $15m allocation for interest-free loans to help WA’s nickel miners still in operation and support the potential restart of idled mines and ramp-up of new projects.

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has called on the Federal Government to reform critical minerals project approvals, warning that opportunities will only translate into regional economic strength if projects can move from approval to construction and into long-term operation.The MCA’s submission to Federal Parliament’s Inquiry into the factors shaping social licence and economic development outcomes in critical minerals projects across Australia notes that regions with a significant mining industry had a lower unemployment rate and higher median income than the national average.Based on ABS data, the MCA found that across the Australian Mining Cities Alliance regions of Mount Isa and Isaac, Broken Hill and Karratha, East Pilbara and Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the unemployment rate was 3.58%, lower than the Australian average rate at the time of 5.1% while median income was $33,000 higher ($74,490 in mining regions against $41,860 Australia-wide).“Mining is the central driver to the long-term development of many regions across Australia which may otherwise have declined or even disappeared,” MCA chief executive Tania Constable said in a statement.“Based on many decades of experience by MCA members of delivering significant long-lasting benefits to regional communities, it is clear that the burgeoning critical minerals sector will create and sustain region-building economic infrastructure.“In towns with a fine line between viability and decline with small population bases, limited housing, stretched health and education services and high infrastructure costs., critical minerals development can be a stabilising force.“Long-life mining is the stable foundation that makes every other development pathway possible, helping communities to grow, services (particularly health and education) to remain viable and local businesses invest with confidence.”The MCA has urged the Federal Government to make it easier and more predictable for critical minerals projects to get built and operated in regional Australia.The submission outlines a range of measures, including strengthening planning, environmental and project approval systems; reforming the Native Title Act 1993 future acts framework; aligning migration and workforce training measures; coordinated infrastructure planning; cross-jurisdictional policy alignment and expanding targeted capability programs for local and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.The inquiry has not yet reported, but it is expected to culminate in a parliamentary report that could shape future policy on approvals, regional development and social licence for critical minerals projects.

Hancock Prospecting (HPPL) will have to pay royalties from Hope Downs to one of its biggest rivals after the WA Supreme Court upheld Wright Prospecting’s claim involving legacy deeds signed by Gina Rinehart's father. The decades-long legal battle has culminated in a ruling from Justice Jennifer Smith, who found HPPL is the beneficial owner of the Hope Downs share but upheld Wright Prospecting’s claim to royalties.The proceedings were concerned with formal agreements made decades ago between Lang Hancock, Peter Wright and Don Rhodes. A major consideration was who held the beneficial ownership of the Hope Downs and East Angelas exploration licenses when they were acquired in 1988 and 1989, and who now holds the beneficial interest in the 50% share of the Hope Downs mining lease. Following the ruling, Hancock Prospecting framed the central issue as ownership of the Hope Downs and East Angelas tenements, rather than “the far less significant issue of royalties”. “HPPL welcomes the WA Supreme Court decision which decisively confirms HPPL’s rightful ownership of these tenements firmly rejecting the baseless ownership claims of John, Bianca and Wright Prospecting Pty Ltd (WPPL) in their entirety,” executive director Jay Newby said in a statement. Hope Downs today generates hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and royalties for the WA Government. “The remaining Rhodes royalty claim historically attributable to HPPL amounts to approximately $4m per annum for Rhodes and for WPPL approximately $14m per annum,” Mr Newby said. Hancock does not expect to shoulder that burden alone. Mr Newby said any amounts payable in royalties and interest are a shared responsibilities with Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), its partner in Hope Downs.  “ a further royalty contribution in this regard, which will lessen contribution,” he said.  “We will consult with our partner and consider our position on these matters.” Counsel on both sides will have 21 days to lodge their appeals.

Several explorers, backed by the Queensland Government, are leveraging the current global fuel security crisis to push for development of the Taroom Trough, which the state says could become Australia's first new oil field since the 1970s. Though the Federal Government is making efforts to minimise the economic shock of a fuel crisis, it does not change the fact that Australia’s dependence on energy imports leaves the country vulnerable.   Australia imports more than 90% of its liquid fuels, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Since 2000, Australia’s importation of oil product has increased about tenfold, according to 2024 data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Taroom Trough is a major hydrocarbon-bearing structure of the Bowen Basin, in southern and central Queensland, and the Queensland Government says developing it would bolster Australia’s long-term fuel security. With the first barrels of oil now entering the domestic fuel supply chain, the Queensland Government is pushing for major project status by the Federal Government to fast-track environmental approvals under the National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway.  Queensland Premier David Crisafulli says streamlining exploration and production of the Taroom Trough is needed to get it out of the ground sooner. “Never again should we be left without the ability to generate domestic fuel supply,” he said. The amount of oil that could be produced — and the environmental impacts of the large-scale, unconventional development — remains unclear. The operation is currently only producing 200 barrels of crude oil a day, barely making a dent in Australia’s demand, with a daily consumption of more than one million barrels of oil a day, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).  Even at its peak, an average of about 800,000 barrels a day in 2000 as estimated by BP, domestic production still fell short of demand.  Australia’s oil reserves are also limited. Geoscience Australia estimates Australia’s proven commercial reserves are about 229 million barrels of oil. Given the amount of fuel the country consumes each day, this would only be enough for about seven months, according to the IEEFA. Australia’s unconventional oil reserves have the potential to be much higher than commercial reserves, but accessing these sources comes with a plethora of issues — mainly surrounding the use of fracking. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is making a more immediate effort to shore up Australia’s fuel supply in talks with Singapore, a crucial fuel refinery hub. Singapore has three refineries that have a combined crude oil refining capacity of 1.3m barrels a day, according to the EIA. Australia has a solid bilateral relationship with Singapore — the region is one of Australia’s largest refined fuel suppliers and Australia is one of Singapore’s largest LNG suppliers.  “Australia and Singapore share deep concern over the situation in the Middle East and its consequences for our region, such as the impact on energy supply chains and prices,” Prime Minister Albanese said. “ commitment to strengthen energy security, to support the flow of essential goods including petroleum oils, such as diesel and LNG between our two countries, and to notify and consult each other on any disruptions with ramifications on the trade of energy.” Prime Minister Albanese may be able to secure more immediate fuel supplies from Singapore, but that doesn’t change the fact Singapore relies heavily on crude oil imports from the Middle East to maintain its production capacity. Energy markets have remained on edge since the disruption introduced by the Covid-19 Pandemic and quickly followed by the global energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.  Now, the ongoing conflict in Iran is rubbing salt in the still healing wound of Australia’s energy market.  On the upside, the US has agreed to a temporary ceasefire with Iran on the condition that ships be granted safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which has given some tentative relief to the market, although shipping in the waterway remains heavily restricted. Even if the ceasefire holds, restoring shipping flows, repairing damaged infrastructure and returning production to full capacity could still take months. 

Today marks one year since US President Donald Trump sent shockwaves across global economies with the imposition of the US Government’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.While Australian exports were hit with the baseline 10%, other US trading partners were hit harder — Canada was hit with 35% and Brazil a whopping 50%.A sweeping 25% tariff on steel and aluminium products and a 50% tariff to copper and copper-containing products was also applied on all US imports.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the tariffs were totally unwarranted."President Trump referred to reciprocal tariffs. A reciprocal tariff would be zero, not 10%," he said."The administration's tariffs have no basis in logic and they go against the basis of our two nation's partnership.“This is not the act of a friend."In February, after several importers lodged lawsuits claiming that President Trump exceeded his authority and subjected US trade policy to his whims, the US Supreme Court declared the tariff regime illegal. The court found that President Trump did not hold the power to impose tariffs on imported goods under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).In December, the US Customs and Border Protection reported the amount of tariffs collected at risk of having to be refunded was US$133.5b.In early March, the US Court of International Trade (CIT) ordered the US Government to commence the refund process for the illegally obtained taxes.The total owed to Australian exporters is yet to be determined, but figures could be eye wateringly high.In 2025 Australian exports to the US totalled about $36.3b — with metals and minerals accounting for about half of that total — according to figures from the United Nations COMTRADE database.The US Customs and Border Protection agency is progressing a streamlined process for refunding the illegal tariff collections but has advised the new system could take up to ?45 days to review and process refund applications.In a filing with the US Court of International Trade, lodged on March 31, US Customs and Border Protection official Brandon Lord says development of a new refund claims portal ?system is now 60-85% complete.In his declaration, Mr Lord confirmed that more than 26,000 importers who paid US$120b in IEEPA tariffs were already registered to receive electronic refunds, though he did not provide a roll out date.Mr Lord also confirmed that the system, in its first phase, will only be capable of processing 63% of entries for which IEEPA duties were paid or have been deposited.Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) recently advised that it had paid almost $1.45b in taxes to the US Government in 2025 due to additional tariffs and — though the percentage of those payments that fell under the IEEPA has not been specified — may be amongst claimants.Since the US Supreme Court’s ruling, the tariff landscape has shifted— but not disappeared.Invoked under Section 122 of the US Trade Act, the US Government has now implemented a new, and legally sound, 10% tariff. However, under this legislation, the tariff can stay in place for a maximum of 150 days.There is no denying the weaponisation of trade is affecting global markets, however, as the world faces ongoing supply chain disruptions, the extent to which it is reshaping the dynamics of global trade is yet to be determined.

After eight years of negotiations, Australia has signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) to lower trade and investment barriers between the regions.Yesterday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the conclusion of negotiations for a FTA alongside a new security and defence partnership.The FTA will boost trade and cooperation on critical minerals, reinforcing the Australia–EU strategic partnership on critical minerals by establishing a clear framework that underpins market access and long-term cooperation across the full minerals value chain.Under the FTA, almost all Australian exports of manufactured goods and mineral resources to the EU will face zero import tariffs.Federal Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell says the FTA is a strategically important and economically valuable agreement at a time when Australian exporters are navigating choppy trade waters.“This hard-fought deal delivers real commercial gains for Australian exporters, farmers and producers into a market that has been difficult to enter or effectively closed for decades,” he said.“The removal of EU tariffs on most of Australia’s exports gives Australian exporters the opportunity to diversify trade with 27 European countries and 450 million consumers.”Australian companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises, will have better access to bid for lucrative European government contracts, worth about $845b annually, including for rail and construction.Australian professionals will also be able to travel to the EU more easily and will benefit from streamlined recognition of their Australian qualifications.Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable says Australia is positioned to be a reliable, long-term supplier of the minerals essential to energy systems, defence technologies, advanced manufacturing and broader industrial resilience.“Mutual recognition of qualifications, professional services and specialist expertise will strengthen industrial capability by improving workforce mobility so critical engineering, technical and professional skills can be deployed more efficiently across mining, processing, manufacturing and defence?adjacent sectors,” she said.“The agreement improves market access for Australian miners, enhances investment certainty and provides a strong platform for increased EU investment into Australian mining projects, downstream processing and critical minerals supply chains.”The FTA will enter into force when both Australia and the EU have completed their domestic processes.