Deidre Willmott
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Western Australia must embrace reform and innovation if it is to be a world-leading global mineral and energy resources hub.
This is according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia (CCI), which on Thursday launched ‘The Future of the Resources Sector: A Vision for WA’, a report that looks at the state’s resources sector and sets out a reform agenda to help overcome looming challenges and capitalise on future opportunities.
The report highlighted the importance of mining to the Western Australia economy, with about A$78-billion, or one-third, of the economic output in 2013/14 from the resources sector and mining royalty income expected to contribute A$4.4-billion to the government’s operating revenue this financial year.
CCI CEO Deidre Willmott said the sector needed state and federal governments to cut red tape as over regulation was causing higher project costs and delays.
She also called for reforms to workplace relations, the tax system and energy markets to promote investment and innovation.
“CCI’s vision is for Western Australia to be a world-leading place to live and do business, and our resources sector must play a central role,” Willmott said.
She further stressed that the fundamentals for the long-term growth of the resources sector remained sound with demand for resources to continue to be driven by strong economic growth and urbanisation in Asia.
“Encouraging greater investment in exploration will help Western Australia become a world leader in resource sector technologies and a global mining hub.
“We can start by removing the budget cap and expanding the eligibility of the Exploration Development Incentive and expanding the scale and scope of the Research and Development Tax Incentive,” Willmott said.