Dartbrook Hunter Valley coal mine cuts workforce as debt snowballs
Dartbrook Mine, an underground thermal coal joint-venture by Australian Pacific Coal and Tetra Resources, had sat empty for 19 years until it was revived at the end of 2024.
But the Hunter Valley mine went into external administration and receivership earlier this month, after failing to meet its obligations for a $174 million loan to Singaporean commodities giant Vitol.
The receivers, who are operating the mine, terminated more than 100 miners or more than two-thirds of Dartbrook's workforce, on Monday.
Do you know more about this or have a similar story? Email turner-cohen.alex@abc.net.au
FTI Consulting, the firm acting as the receiver that is operating the site, said in a statement making the mass terminations "wasn't an easy decision" but it was "necessary for Dartbrook's long-term future".
Previously, FTI Consulting said it had been appointed as receivers to support the "long-term future" of the Dartbrook coal mine.
"We intend to continue operations onsite and work with relevant stakeholders while an urgent assessment of options is undertaken," receiver Ben Campbell said previously in the statement.
Mining and Energy Union (MEU) president Robin Williams said the mass terminations were "disgraceful".
"Over the weekend, operations were wound down while workers were left in the dark, waiting to hear if they would be required," he said.
"Many of them have now been unceremoniously notified by email that they no longer have a job.
"It's hurting families and the local community."
Mr Williams said that while employees had been cut, labour hire contractors at the site had been kept on and claimed that the decision was made without proper consultation with workers, breaching the enterprise agreement.
The MEU said it would fight for workers and has already filed a case with the Fair Work Commission.
It comes as Dartbrook's debt and number of creditors continue to climb.
Minutes from a creditor's meeting held earlier this month showed that at least 51 companies claimed they were owed money.
The total debts exceed $820 million, not including its $174 million loan to Vitol.
The largest creditor was UK-based non-bank loan agency, Global Loan Agency Services (GLAS), which claimed it was owed more than $800 million.
The ABC understands that they have claimed $202 million from four different entities.
The ABC has contacted GLAS for comment.
Administrators from Deloitte were appointed to another entity, Tetra Dartbrook, at the end of last week.
The Deloitte administrators have applied for a six-month extension to push back the next time creditors will meet until February next year.
The matter is being heard at the Federal Court on Wednesday.
Deloitte was already acting as the administrator of several entities relating to Tetra Resources, while insolvency firm McGrath Nicol is administering entities involved with Australian Pacific Coal.
Local businesses owed money have voiced their concerns about those debts ever being paid, especially in the wake of the job cuts.
Hunter Valley business EMF Group is subcontracted to work at Dartbrook's coal washery and is owed $282,000.
Director Jason Anderson said after hearing news of the mass redundancies, it was "not looking good".
Jim Eastley, a Hunter Valley local, said his business, CE Mining, was owed more than $500,000.
"It's pretty tough to swallow," Mr Eastley previously said.
"We're hoping that things can turn around and the mine will become productive … but that's a long way off at the moment."
Muswellbrook Shire Mayor Jeff Drayton previously said the debts Dartbrook owed local businesses were "enough that it might be enough to break some of these smaller companies".
He said half a dozen local businesses with debts exceeding $3 million between them had contacted him.
Cr Drayton said Dartbrook also owed the Muswellbrook Shire Council unpaid rates.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
9 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Leading unions pressure government to bolster taxes and reform negative gearing in major blow to Anthony Albanese's productivity agenda
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has urged the government to make mammoth changes to numerous policies that would raise $25 billion per year in new taxes as Anthony Albanese's productivity agenda comes under threat. The government has come under fire in recent weeks for touting new taxes ahead of it's highly anticipated economic reform roundtable in late August, with the Coalition warning that fresh levies were not the right approach to lift the nations productivity slump. It was reported on Thursday that Treasurer Jim Chalmers was eyeing lifting the effective tax rate on Australia's 500 largest companies and reducing it for small businesses after the Productivity Commission proposed a new cashflow tax that would boost investment by up to $7.4 billion. The PC recommended the government cut the company tax rate for businesses with revenues under $1 billion while imposing a new 5 per cent net cashflow tax for all companies depending on how much they invest. It also called for a 20 per cent tax rate on profits for companies with annual revenues of up of to $1 billion. However, ACTU secretary Sally McManus urged the government to go a step further and make major reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax and to further slap increased tax rates on family trusts and resources to alleviate the country's productivity woes. Ms McManus, who leads 38 unions, and 1.8 million workers said the government needed to pursue 'fair' redistribution of national wealth and that slashing regulation and red tape was not the answer. 'You can't address living standards without addressing housing affordability, so we are going to bring to the roundtable proposals that negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts and benefits should be limited to one investment property,' Ms McManus told The Australian. 'There should be attention paid to making sure that productivity gains are fairly distributed, just as much as we focus on an increasing the rate of productivity growth,' Representatives from the ACTU have received four of 24 invitations to the upcoming economic reform roundtable, with Ms McManus set to have a front row seat to productivity deliberations. She poured cold water on the Productivity Commission's claim that workers would score an estimated $14,000 a year if higher productivity expectations were met within the next decade and insisted that productivity gains needed to be shared equally. If negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount were limited to one property then this would generate $1.5 billion in savings and earnings. Ms McManus said the ACTU's proposal would exempt existing properties from being impacted by the new laws for five years. She also said on the ABC's Insiders program that the government needed to "bite the bullet' and that since 2019 'the problem has just got worse.' Nearly half of all Australian landlords had negatively geared properties according to Treasury's annual report released in December. She said that the government should no longer subsidise the ownership of numerous investment properties and that capital needed to flow throughout the economy and workforce equitably. The ACTU is also advocating for a significant shake-up of the resource and mining sector, including replacing the current petroleum resource rent tax with a 25 per cent export levy on revenues made from liquefied natural gas. Australia exported $65.2 billion in LNG in the 2024-25 financial year, and if applied a 25 per cent export levy would have collected $16.3 billion in tax as opposed to the $2 billion in revenue generated from the PRRT over the same period. The policy proposals will spark the ire of the housing and resources sector, who have not secured a spot at the upcoming roundtable. The ACTU will also implore the government to hike taxes for billionaires and family trusts with Ms McManus adding that the current taxation system needed a seismic overhaul centred on redistribution. 'We need to raise more revenue because if we want a living standards really good quality health system and education system and the NDIS, then you've got to make sure that you've got money to pay for it,' she said. If applied, the ACTU's tax proposals would generate $25 billion per year in fresh taxes, almost halving the governments forecasted deficits.
Perth Now
39 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Tradition Aussies can no longer afford
A two-speed booze tax kicks in Monday, as beer taxes are frozen while spirits are slugged by the twice-a-year price hike. Anthony Albanese made the two-year beer tax freeze an election promise and has paused any tax increases on kegged beer. But the freeze creates an unequal playing field between draught and liquor, as cocktail and spirit drinkers will see venues pass on the latest tax hike at the till. 'With cost-of-living pressures biting hard, even the smallest increase in price is noticed by customers and businesses alike,' Night Time Industries Association boss Mick Gibb told NewsWire. 'We're not asking for special treatment, just equal treatment. Freezing the beer excise is a great thing, but we can't leave behind the small bars, live music venues and performance spaces that aren't running beer taps. 'While there's lots of factors involved in pricing a cocktail or a drink, if there's a cost input that the government has control over, they should be leveraging it to give people a bit of breathing room.' Tax increases on draught beer have been paused for two years. Glenn Campbell / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Substantive, quarterly inflation data released this week shows inflation has flattened out to 2.1 per cent over the past year. Despite this reprieve for household budgets, the majority of average workers cannot afford a quick drink after work, the Night Time Industries Association finds. The association's latest quarterly report found people on salaries between $80,000 to $150,000 were staying in, while people being paid more than $150,000 were going out more and more. 'Cost-of-living pressures are far from over, with many venues reporting consumers are foregoing the after-work drink for less frequent, but more extravagant experiences for special occasions at a premium restaurant or an international artists' gig,' Mr Gibb said. The Australian Distillers Association says distillers and venues cannot cop the price hike. 'This is incredibly disappointing. It's not just another tax hike, it's a significant one that distillers and hospitality venues simply can't absorb,' distillers boss Cameron Mackenzie told NewsWire. 'In the end, it's customers who'll be left paying more for their favourite spirits' Half of Australian distilleries were in the regions, he said, and drove manufacturing, jobs and tourism. 'This tax hike hits everyone: producers, venues and consumers who'll see higher prices for their favourite gin and tonic.' Out campaigning, the Prime Minister poured plenty of beers, but the tax freeze was announced weeks before the election date was officially called. The Labor government has enacted the beer tax freeze, promised by Anthony Albanese before the campaign period earlier this year. Mark Stewart / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia At that time, Treasurer Jim Chalmers called the tax break modest. reported last week the lost tax revenue would equal $95m over four years. The Prime Minister's office declined to say how much the tax break would cost the budget. 'We're focused on easing the cost of living for Australians, and we know that every little bit helps. This will help take a bit of pressure off beer drinkers, brewers and bars,' a spokesperson said. 'Whether it's a tax cut for every taxpayer, help with energy bills, or the new relief that's rolling out this month like higher wages for award workers, we're doing everything we responsibly can to help with the cost of living.' The tax freeze only applies to beers on tap at licensed hospitality venues. Stubbies and cans at the bar or bottle store are excluded. Distilled spirits are totally excluded from the freeze no matter where they are purchased or how they are consumed. From Monday, taxes on spirits with more than 10 per cent alcohol will increase 1.6 per cent. Alcohol taxes rise in February and August every year. For beer, the rates vary depending on alcohol content, the size and type of container it's packaged in, and whether it was made at a commercial brewery or a 'brew-on-premise' venue. Kegs of the most common beers at pubs are usually 50 litre. Tax on each 50-litre keg of full strength beer will stay at $43.39 for the next two years. Willie the Boatman brewery has canonised Anthony Albanese with a pale ale. Jason Edwards / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Wine falls under a separate tax regimen than beer and spirits. Wine is taxed at 29 per cent of the wholesale value. The beer and spirits excise has ticked up and along without reform for more than 40 years. The Australian Hotels Association says the decades-old format needs to change. 'We recognise the need for the government to raise revenue from liquor excise but the way excise was going up every six months was keeping people at home, drinking alone rather than getting out and socialising in safe, local venues,' AHA president David Canny told NewsWire. 'We want to make sure a beer poured at the bar doesn't become a luxury item and this is a great step towards that.' Hospitality and brewing groups say the tax freeze will support jobs, promote socialisation and provide general cost-of-living relief. Martin Ollman / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia This two-year freeze helped support 300,000 hospitality staff, Mr Canny said. 'It is great to see the Albanese government has listened and acted on this unpopular hidden tax,' he said. 'There's no better place to have a beer than down at the local – they are a place for community and connection – and anything that makes it a little bit more affordable is worthwhile. 'It's a win for common sense in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.' The Brewers Association of Australia similarly enjoyed news of the freeze but had its eye on long-term change. 'We certainly thank the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and the Assistant Treasurer for backing this in,' Brewers Association chief executive Amanda Watson told NewsWire. 'Brewers will continue to work with the government to ensure future excise reform is looked at seriously to support a sustainable Australian brewing sector.'
ABC News
39 minutes ago
- ABC News
ACTU secretary proposes reforms to negative gearing tax breaks
Sally McManus says tax breaks from negative gearing should be limited to only one investment property for every owner.
