Coal royalties refers to the taxes paid by mining companies in exchange for their access and extraction of coal.
According to the Queensland Government, Queensland’s coal producers have seen the benefits of an “exceptional surge” in global coal prices, particularly in the prices of hard coking coal, leading to increased profits. The Queensland 2022-2023 budget noted a $10.5 billion increase in the expected revenue from coal and oil royalties. Queensland’s coal royalties are expected to generate a revenue uplift of roughly $7.2 billion over the next 5 years closing in 2026-2027, with prices expected to normalise in 2024.
These coal royalties have been allocated to a variety of health, sporting, energy and water projects, including those detailed in the Queensland Jobs & Energy Plan. These investments include:
More than $3.6 billion for building, upgrading or expanding regional hospitals , including new hospitals in Bundaberg and Toowoomba
More than $500 million to support the LifeFlight service
More than $330 million to support the Royal Flying Doctor Service
$70 million in funding to increase the Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme (PTSS)
⅕ of the total $5 billion CopperString 2032 project, an 1100km power transmission line from Townsville to Mt Isa, connecting Queensland’s North West to the national electricity grid
$6 billion to the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project, which will provide green energy to power up to 2 million homes, with 2 gigawatts of 24-hour storage
$1 billion to support the Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro Project, forecast to be the largest hydro energy storage site in the world.
$800 million for a 2.3 gigawatt suite of wind and solar projects in central Queensland
$550 million for the Fitzroy to Gladstone Pipeline
$29 million in funding for the Brown Park in Rockhampton
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