LNP trumpets Adani mine investment but remains coy on royalty deal
Premier David Crisafulli has touted an end to state 'hostilities' with the Indian-owned operator of the Carmichael coal mine amid a new $50 million investment promise from Bravus at the central Queensland site.
But Crisafulli and Treasurer David Janetzki have declined to reveal details of the deal struck by the former Labor government allowing the company formerly known as Adani to defer royalty payments, which continues.
It also remains unclear exactly how the government was able to reach the truce after its investigations into potential unpaid royalties led to the company taking court action to bring the matter to an end.
Why it matters
The then Labor government struck a confidential royalties deal with Adani ahead of the 2020 state election. At the time, treasurer Cameron Dick declared: 'Adani will pay every dollar in royalties that they have to pay to the people of Queensland and the taxpayers of Queensland – with interest.'
After claims in early 2023 that the India-based conglomerate used corporate structures to avoid tax, the Queensland Revenue Office, which is part of Treasury and reported to Dick, put the company's Australian arm on notice.
In a letter that emerged as part of the company's legal action, the revenue office said it was investigating underpayments between July 2021 and April 2023, which would need to be repaid with interest plus 'a penalty of 75 per cent of the shortfall'.
A summary of the case on the Queensland Courts website shows that in January this year, Adani filed to discontinue its judicial review of the matter, launched last May.
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