COOPER BASIN

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:20): I have a supplementary question. Can the Leader of the Government provide an estimate of the royalties that would be paid to the taxpayer as a result of the project?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (15:21): Up until fairly recently, the petroleum royalties in this state actually exceeded mineral royalties because, of course, the Cooper Basin—which was really the first major onshore oil and gas discovery in the country, certainly the major onshore discovery—has been a very significant part of the royalties generated in this state since the 1960s.

I do have here, I believe, the most recent figures. The result for 2007-08, for total petroleum royalties—and these would be almost entirely from the Cooper Basin; there may be some smaller royalties from the very small fields in the South-East—was $69.5 million compared to minerals royalties of $73.5 million, totalling $143 million. The budget estimates for 2008-09 are: for petroleum, $80.8 million, obviously reflecting the higher price for oil; for minerals, $82.6 million, totalling $163.4 million.

We have been very fortunate that because of the higher prices we have received for petroleum our royalty stream has been maintained, even though gas production has obviously been declining in the Cooper Basin. I guess the conclusion from that is that we do need to expand the mining industry and, therefore, our mining royalties, to make up for the ultimate reduction in petroleum royalties, but also it underlines the fact that we do need to increase the exploration for petroleum, not only so that this state can be more self-sufficient in fossil fuels but also ultimately so that it will gain the benefits of royalties. Incidentally, it is not just the state that gains the royalties: I understand that many of the indigenous groups, who are the traditional owners of land within the Cooper Basin, have also been receiving significant amounts of money as a result of this oil production.