KALGOORLIE (miningweekly.com) – Diggers and Dealers forum chairperson Barry Eldridge said on Monday that despite the recent positive changes made by the federal government in terms of mining and environmental legislation, the government still had to be held accountable for the state of the industry.

“It would appear that the current federal government is working hard to deliver on the promise to eliminate the taxes that were imposed to penalise proactive development of our resources and the resulting positive contribution to the Australian economy,” Eldridge said during the first day of the yearly Diggers and Dealers conference, in Kalgoorlie.

However, he pointed out that the industry remained subject to the whim of minority parties, which had an influence on Australia’s legislative future.

“Those narrow-minded politicians who remain committed to acting as though the resource industry is an enemy of Australia should just get out of the way and let us get on with developing our nation’s resource assets for the benefit of all through encouraging major investment, creating employment opportunities, developing new technologies and paying income taxes as strong corporate citizens.”

Eldridge also noted that the resources industry was also still considered as a source of revenue to fill government coffers, pointing to the Western Australian state government’s consideration of increasing gold royalties.

“I am not sure when they will get the message; margins are tight in this industry. It is an industry that requires constant capital injections to maintain productivity, exploration expenditure to replenish mined resource and substantial fluctuations in commodity prices and currency rates mean that this sector needs to be allowed to operate without additional burdens such as extra taxes.”

He added that the gold industry should be allowed to focus on productivity efficiencies and on strengthening its balance sheets, which would flow through to community benefits.

“Now is not the time to be opportunistic and impose extra burdens,” Eldridge said.

The chairperson pointed out that the mining industry, as a whole, would have to sharpen its focus on operational economies to rectify cost efficiencies imposed through wage blow-outs and compromises in productivity.

“Managing businesses in the resources sector is frankly bloody difficult,” Eldridge added.

He further insisted that miners should focus on exploration, saying that while it was a high-risk industry, it was a valid portion of the resources investment sector.

“Pricing reflects the risks and the rewards can be substantial. What I do know is that we have to have an active exploration industry; we will find and develop new resources, and that is fundamentally essential to a sustainable resource industry.”