The Minister for Resources, Martin Ferguson, has rejected reports in the Indian press that Australia’s carbon tax and mineral resources rent tax will deter foreign investment.
“Everybody I’ve spoken to in India is looking to invest in Australia.They don’t see the MRRT and the carbon tax as a barrier,” he told the Herald in New Delhi after three days of talks with Indian mining companies and government officials.
But Indian newspapers have reported that the carbon tax will push up the price of Australian coal, and, as a result, the cost of power from plants that use it.
The national Financial Express said that the carbon tax would lead to an increase of 55 paise ($0.01¢) per kilowatt hour for power plants using Australian coal.
India’s need for overseas coal is due to grow massively in the next five years as it tries to bring electricity to the 400 million people who live without it, and the economy grows by more than 8 per cent a year.
India imported about 55 million tonnes in 2010, but the figure will balloon to about 300 million tonnes by 2016. Australia is a big supplier, exporting more than 25 million tonnes a year to India.
Mr Ferguson criticised the miner Andrew Forrest over his opposition to the government’s nascent mining super-profits tax.
He told him to “get on board” with the scheme, and alleged his antagonism was motivated purely by self-interest.
“The only way I would have pleased Andrew Forrest was if I devised a tax that suited the needs of Andrew Forrest, and to hell with the rest of the needs of the mining industry in Australia,” Mr Ferguson said. “It’s about time Twiggy [Mr Forrest] got on board with the strong view across the mining industry generally, that, given the profits and the commodity prices at the moment, you ought to give something back to the Australian community for the privilege of developing their resources.”
