PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The major investment in Australia’s resources sector has failed to deliver any significant benefits to Australians, a new report by worker union CFMEU has found.

‘The Australian Resources Boom: Sharing the Benefits’ report found that record mining company profits far outstripped growth in resource taxes and royalties, while the array of deductions available to mining companies left them with a corporate tax rate lower than any other industry.

The report states that the mining industry’s cash flow after operating costs have nearly doubled between 2006/7 and 2011/12, while the share of industry income going to workers has fallen from 30% in 1990 to the current 20%.

Investment in the resources sector has seen the rate of employment in the industry grow, but CFMEU national president Tony Maher noted that much of this growth had been in the fly-in, fly-out operations.

“In mining towns themselves, a chronic deficit in social infrastructure, including housing, health and community facilities, has barely been addressed, making life in those towns increasingly difficult and expensive.”

CFMEU mining and energy division general secretary Andrew Vickers said Australians should not be arguing about how to fund education, public services and support for the elderly in the midst of an unprecedented resources boom.

“We need to do better. We’ve just experienced an investment boom of the like we’ve never seen before and we’re in the middle of a production boom with many years to go,” said Vickers.

“We can’t keep squandering the opportunity to deliver real benefits to Australians from the finite mineral resources that belong to all of us. We need a federal government willing to stand up to self-interested mining companies and manage this resources boom in a fair and sustainable way.”

Vickers pointed out that the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) could have been better constructed, but noted that it was a first step towards addressing this challenge.

“We shouldn't dump the MRRT, we should build on it for the long term.”

Newly elected Prime Minister Tony Abbott has moved to abolish the MRRT, introducing legislation into Parliament with a view to abolishing the tax by the start of July next year.

Meanwhile, the CFMEU report also accused the mining industry of not driving enough growth in other sectors of the economy, arguing that the resources sector should be used to extend opportunities to manufacturing and service firms engaged in offshore engineering.

The CFMEU report comes just days after the Minerals Council of Australia released figures showing that Australian miners had spent about A$34.7-billion on community infrastructure, indigenous contractors, local suppliers and other community activities in 2011/12.