Still no deal for miners on Aussie tax bill
A SECOND day of intense negotiations has stopped short of producing a deal between mining companies and the new Australian administration for a resources super profit tax.
The country’s new deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan said he and finance minister Martin Ferguson were preparing to continue into a third day of talks with mining companies.
“We will continue to do that as we go through the rest of the week. We are not into megaphone diplomacy here. We are sitting down in good faith discussing matters with a wide range of people,” he said yesterday.
The talks are understood to include Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Xstrata, the most vocal critics of the proposed introduction of a 40 per cent resources super tax on miners.
Mining industry groups suspended a hostile advertising campaign against the tax last week after Julia Gillard promised to negotiate with the industry.
Rio Tinto’s chief executive Sam Walsh told reporters he was “very hopeful of a quick resolution”.
“If a deal is put together, we’ve got to have the assurance that it will carry through post the election if the government is re-elected,” he said.
Gillard, who became Prime Minister last Thursday after ousting Kevin Rudd, told the Australian media yesterday: “I have been pleased by the constructive and disciplined approach that is being taken by both sides.”
Gillard has made a deal on the controversial tax a priority since replacing Rudd, whose failure to reach a compromise played a part in his downfall, and is expected to call an election shortly after sewing up an agreement with the miners.
Mining shares were the main drag on a largely flat FTSE yesterday.