Article by Tom Zuanmayr, courtesy of Business News
Record iron ore shipments have driven a healthy $3.2-billion profit for Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill, who has once again taken aim at regulation she says is burdening the industry’s prosperity.
Roy Hill shipped 64 million tonnes of ore in the 2023-24 financial year through Port Hedland, helping the company boost its profit 18 per cent 2022-23’s $2.7-billion windfall.
The company reported injecting more than $1.4 billion into the WA economy and $1 billion into the national accounts through its operational activities such as contracting and procurement.
It also reported a $1.4-billion corporate tax bill and $665-million state and native title royalty outlay.
Mrs Rinehart, Roy Hill’s executive chairman, congratulated the company’s 3,000-odd employees for their loyalty and dedication.
But the bulk of her commentary in the company’s media release took aim at regulation and bureaucrats which she has been arguing fervently risked delaying or preventing new projects.
“The threat of competition from other nations is real, particularly if they are able to operate with less government tape, less approvals systems, and less government cost burdens,” she said.
“Australia’s increasing government intervention combined with ideological and expensive or impractical policies is negatively effecting new mining investment.
“It is critical that our politicians and governments implement ways to encourage business to grow and invest in Australia, such as to introduce special economic zones with less government red tape and less tax, or rebates.
“This does not mean handing out billions of taxpayers’ dollars to those who so lobby.”
Hancock Prospecting operations chief executive Gerhard Veldsman said Roy Hill’s profits were crucial to its investment mandate.
Those profits, Mr Veldsman said, would be spent on staff training, high wages, approvals, development, taxes, and royalties.
Mr Veldsman said Roy Hill was expected to run out of ore in the early 2030s if government did not ensure a timely approvals process.
