Golayaasha Deegaanku Waxay Doonayaan Inay Iyagu Go'aamiyaan Lacagta Ay Bixiyaan Shirkadaha Macdanta
Ururka LGANT wuxuu raadinayaa isbeddel sharciyeed oo u oggolaanaya golayaasha deegaanka inay go'aamiyaan heerka canshuuraha macdanta ee aagaggooda. Waxaa liddi ku ah Ururka Macdanta Australia, halka dowladda NT ay tiraahdo go'aamada waxaa sal iyo saldhig u noqonaya caddaynta.
Nidaamka Hadda ee Canshuuraha
Sida sharciga Local Government Act 2019 uu dhigayo, wasiirka arrimaha golayaasha deegaanka ee NT ayaa go'aamiya lacagta laga qaado macdanta iyo kiraynta xoolaha, halkii golayaashu go'aamin lahaayeen sida hantida kale. Tanina waxay xaddiday awoodda golayaasha.
Hadda warshadaha macdantu waxay bixiyaan $1.6 million guud ahaan dhulka oo dhan ee loo diro golayaasha. Sida uu qabo madaxa LGANT Peter Pangquee: 'Currently the mining industry pays $1.6 million right across the Territory to all councils. That's not a lot when you look at the proportion of intake by those companies.'
Kororka Kharashka iyo Faa'iidada Suurtagalka ah
Warbixin ka timid Industry Capability Network NT ayaa muujisay in macdanta NT ay kori doonto, iyadoo Barkly keliya ay soo saari doonto $35 billion marka loo gaadho 2030. Laakiin golaha Barkly ayaa leh lacag yar ayaa ku soo laabaneysa.
Duqa Barkly Sid Vashist ayaa sheegay in dayactirka ay ku kacayso $155 million muddo 10 sano ah, laakiin lacagta kaydsan ee ah $5 million ayaa kaliya la hayn karaa. Wuxuu yiri: 'A mine in Queensland that's producing gold is potentially paying between $130,000 to $250,000 in rates to a council. Currently, we might have mines in our region that will be potentially paying between $10,000 to $15,000, so the disparity is huge.'
Diidmada Warshadaha iyo Jawaabta Dowladda
Cathryn Tilmouth oo ah agaasimaha Minerals Council of Australia ayaa sheegtay in kordhinta canshuuraha ay niyad-jabinayso shirkadaha macdanta ee ka shaqeeya Waqooyiga Territory. Iyadu waxay tiraahdee macdantu way isku filan tahay adeegyada deegaanka.
Wasiirka Steve Edgington ayaa xaqiijiyay inuu gaari doono 'evidence-based decisions', laakiin wuxuu tiraahdee waa inuu 'balance' sameeyaa waxyaabaha ku timaadda horumarka macdanta iyo faa'iidadooda. Dowladduna waxay leedahay waxay tixgelin doontaa caddaynta
The Local Government Association of the Northern Territory is calling for legislative reform so councils can determine their own rates for mining operations, arguing the current system leaves them underfunded as mining booms across the region.
Councils Seek Fairer Revenue Model
LGANT president Peter Pangquee said councils should rate mining companies the same as other ratepayers based on property size, noting that most NT councils have small populations and limited revenue bases. He said the mining industry currently pays $1.6 million across the Territory, which is not a lot when looking at the proportion of intake by those companies.
Under the Local Government Act 2019, the NT minister for local government sets the rates for mining tenements and pastoral leases, instead of allowing councils to set the rates, as they do for other properties. Pangquee said they appreciate the mining industry and what they do for the Northern Territory, but what they want is a bit of fairness.
Infrastructure Costs Outstrip Council Income
Barkly Regional Council Mayor Sid Vashist said mining across the NT was set to boom, with operations in the Barkly region alone expected to generate $35 billion by 2030, yet only a small amount of that money was flowing back to the council. He said it would cost council $155 million over 10 years to maintain its assets, but council would only have a spare $5 million to use over the same amount of time.
Vashist highlighted a huge disparity, noting that a mine in Queensland producing gold is potentially paying between $130,000 to $250,000 in rates to a council, while mines in the Barkly region might be paying between $10,000 to $15,000. He said he is not proud about the situation and needs to change that story, but does not have the cash to do it.
Mining Industry Warns Against Rate Increases
Minerals Council of Australia executive director of Northern Australia Cathryn Tilmouth said increasing rate payments would disincentivise the mining industry from operating in the Northern Territory, where it made a huge economic contribution. She said it is not just about the rates that are paid, you have employment, you have service and supply industry getting contracts from these projects, and you have all the infrastructure that mining projects actually deliver that the government could not otherwise.
Tilmouth argued that rates were meant to be paid in return for service provision, but councils were not providing services to mines, asking what the mining industry is actually getting from local government. The NT government says it will balance the evidence to make decisions, with Minister for Local Government Steve Edgington saying he would make evidence-based decisions but had to balance all the things that came with mining development against the benefits.
