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September 6th, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Updated
The State’s Treasurer Mike Baird says he will hike mining royalties to pay for the impost of the tax.
The New South Wales Government has carried out its threat to raid the Commonwealth’s coffers in retaliation for the planned carbon tax.
The state’s Treasurer Mike Baird says he will hike mining royalties to pay for the impost of the tax.
He does so in the knowledge that the Commonwealth will foot the bill because it has agreed to refund any state royalties under the Minerals Resource Rent Tax.
Mr Baird says the carbon tax will wipe about $900 million from the budget over the forward estimates.
“We are prepared to use all means within our power to recover the cost to this state of the Gillard Government’s carbon tax,” he said.
State Opposition Leader John Robertson says it is an embarrassing backflip for the O’Farrell government.
“Three weeks out from the last election Mike Baird said there would be no increases in mining taxes; today we see mining taxes at the centrepiece of the O’Farrell/Baird budget,” he said.
In its budget, Western Australia also hiked royalties, earning the ire of the Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan.
Mr Swan has told AM the move by New South Wales is likely to hurt the state.
“If Mr O’Farrell wants to take this action, then that will simply mean less money for infrastructure in places like New South Wales,” he said.
It is a sentiment echoed by the Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese, who says some of the mining tax money has already been allocated to infrastructure projects.
“For every decision there’s a counter decision; I think it’s really counterproductive of New South Wales to go down this track,” he said.
Usually a critic of increased mining taxes, the Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott insists mining royalties are a matter for the states.
“The Federal Government put in place a certain set of arrangements and those arrangements are wholly and solely the responsibility of the Federal Government,” he said.
“If they did a bad deal, well, be it on their heads.”
Sue-Ern Tan is the deputy chief executive officer of the New South Wales Minerals Council and she is cautiously optimistic about the budget.
‘It’s simply not going to be as simple as robbing Peter to pay Paul,” she said.
“I think the assumption that somehow every royalty increase will be reimbursed by the Federal Government and is therefore a zero-sum game for the industry is a dangerous one.”
With expenses projected to grow faster than revenue over the forward estimates, budget deficits were expected to grow, reaching $2.4 billion by 2014/15.
Had these circumstances continued, the triple A credit rating was likely to have been lost within the current term of government.
The budget means 5,000 back-office public service jobs will be cut, while about 4,000 teachers, nurses and police officers will be hired.
Mr Baird also blamed the previous government’s solar rebate scheme for a budgeted $10 increase to annual household electricity bills.
And he promised to lease the desalination plant and the Port of Botany to raise funds for infrastructure.
The ratings agency Standard and Poor’s has confirmed the state will retain its triple A credit rating after today’s budget.
government-and-politics,
states-and-territories,
tax,
federal-government,
mining-industry,
australia,
nsw
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