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March 25th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
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The new Federal Resources Minister, Gary Gray, says the introduction of the mining tax could have been handled better, but has ruled out making any changes.
With only five months in the job before the election, Mr Gray says it will be “business as usual”.
The former executive with Woodside Petroleum has taken over from Martin Ferguson, who last week quit Cabinet as a result of the failed leadership coup.
The mining tax was originally put forward when Kevin Rudd was prime minister, but was renegotiated by Julia Gillard soon after she took over the top job.
Mr Gray admitted that the introduction of the tax had its faults, but told the ABC’s Lateline program it is good for the country because it delivers extra revenue to the Government.
“The way in which it was introduced was less than perfect,” he said.
“But understanding now that with the [mineral resources rent tax] and with the increases in royalties, we now have a minerals sector that’s contributing to the coffers of state and federal governments in a way that has never happened before.”
He also defended the structure of the tax, saying “I am not about to make any changes”.
Mr Gray told Lateline it is important that the resources sector continues to grow in the face of price uncertainty and softening markets.
“I think it’s right to say that as we look to the future for our extractive industries, we see price uncertainty, some softening in markets and that’s been well and truly flagged both by analysts but also by the Australian Government over the course of the last four or five years,” he said.
“Our need to continue increasing our volumes means that we do have to ensure that cost pressures are kept to a minimum so that we can ensure a profitable mining sector.”
Mr Gray’s appointment has been welcomed by the mining industry, but they also say he has inherited a portfolio in need of reform.
While he was not critical of the work left to him, Mr Gray said there were areas that do need to be addressed.
“I’m not about to suggest that I [inherited] a portfolio full of troubles and problems out of the cost pressures that we face,” he said.
“But I do think it’s reasonable to say that we understand the problems that we face as one of the world’s great resource-exporting countries and we also have the wit and the capacity to think through what some of those solutions might be.”
‘Embarrassing’ views
Mr Gray’s appointment has drawn criticism from conservation groups, who point out that he has previously described climate change as “pop science”.
But he said his views on that have changed, and he no longer questions the science.
“I was a vocal climate sceptic,” he said.
“And as national secretary of the Labor Party I said things that frankly … embarrass me when I hear it played back.
“I think there’s an undeniable connection between human industrial activity and carbon pollution that we need to address, that we should address and also that we can address.”
Meanwhile, Mr Gray rejected Opposition suggestions that the Prime Minister has been avoiding Western Australia.
And he says that Western Australian Labor Leader Mark McGowan is on a well deserved break after his heavy defeat in the state election.
“I think it’s reasonable to say that as the father of a young family who’d just fought an intense state campaign, Mark wanted a break,” he said.
“He wanted an opportunity to get away with his family and he needed to take that opportunity as soon as possible, and that’s what he’s done.”
Mr Gray is one of 17 Ministers or Parliamentary secretaries who were given new or expanded responsibilities yesterday.
Topics:
mining-industry,
industry,
business-economics-and-finance,
federal-government,
government-and-politics,
australia
Source Article from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-26/gray-rules-out-changes-to-mining-tax/4593872
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