King coal back on throne – CQ Today

Business is booming in Central Queensland but things are not as rosy as they may at first seem.
The price of our major commodities like coal, beef, cotton and wheat are all at high levels. Coal has received more obituaries than a cat but it keeps coming back. Indeed, over the past 12 months Australia has exported $130 billion worth of coal, more than any other commodity, including iron ore.
King Coal is back.
While all this is positive we are living off the fruits of the last commodity price boom. After the Global Financial Crisis, China spent trillions boosting its economy and the resulting increase in coal demand sent its price soaring.
These high prices led to an investment boom. At the height of the last mining boom, coal investment in Australia peaked at over $13 billion a year. These high level of investments helped open new mines (like Caval Ridge), expanded the capacity of our coal ports and opened the first new coal basin in 50 years (the Galilee Basin).
King Coal’s recoronated position as our nation’s biggest export is thanks to these investments a decade ago. By building new mines and expanding ports we increased the productive capacity of the coal mining industry so that when prices rise like they have business can expand.
This makes things feel good in Central Queensland right now but the question is why are we not making more investments now so that we guarantee our future economic strength?
Over the past 12 months investment in coal mining has been just $6.5 billion compared to double that during the last mining boom. Indeed, this week mining investment across Australia slumped 5.1 per cent despite Australia’s terms of trade being at a higher level than the last mining boom.
The $6 billion question is why aren’t the higher coal and gas prices leading to greater investment in coal and gas? The International Energy Agency looked at the lack of investment response in Australia recently and concluded that “The mismatch between coal prices and additional investment is in part a product of a financial and regulatory environment that has become increasingly restrictive towards further investment in coal supply.”
In other words, woke banks and red tape are choking the economic opportunity that we have in Central Queensland. While the new Labor Government cannot be blamed for the ESG virus that has infected our financial system, they have added more red tape.
The new Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, has stopped the approval of 18 coal and gas projects based on a request by the Environment Council of Central Queensland. Why is the new Labor Government listening to radical green activists in Central Queensland but not the average people that rely on the coal industry for their jobs or livelihoods?
The situation is especially ironic given that the new Labor Government is relying on taxes on the coal and gas industries to fund their spending. And the lack of new coal and gas supply means energy prices will stay higher for longer for all Australian families.
While things may feel good now in CQ, if we do not attract further investment during the good times we will no longer have a base of economic activity for when the commodity cycle inevitably turns. We need to get the government focused on re-investing back in our region otherwise, during the next boom and bust cycle, we will miss out on the boom.