Mining tax is unconstitutional, Fortescue tells High Court

Lawyers for Fortescue Metals Group have struggled to convince High Court judges that the federal government’s Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) is unconstitutional because it discriminates between states, according to the Australian Financial Review.

On the first morning of Fortescue’s challenge to the MRRT on Wednesday, the company’s counsel, David Jackson, QC, told the court that the tax breached section 51(2) of the Constitution because it calculated a miner’s liability by reference to the royalties it paid.

As royalties vary from state to state, this meant a miner’s liability also varied depending on where their operations were located, resulting in impermissible discrimination, Jackson said.

“To tax at a different rate in different states has been regarded in [court] decisions as a paradigm case where there has been discrimination between states,” he told the court.

Miners oppose ‘leapfrog’ appointments to IR tribunal

An employer group has asked federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to intervene in the appointment of two new vice presidents to the Fair Work Commission, arguing that it would undermine its role as an independent umpire, according to the AFR.

The Australian Mines and Metals Association has written to Dreyfus and shadow attorney-general George Brandis to argue that existing members of the national workplace tribunal should not be “leapfrogged” and in effect demoted.

The letter says the existing vice presidents, Michael Lawler and Graeme Watson, should be appointed to the new roles to protect the perceived independence and reputation of the commission.

Rio confident of hitting Oyu Tolgoi deadline

Rio Tinto remains confident of hitting the slated June commissioning date for its Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project in Mongolia, despite continuing disagreements with the country’s government, according to the AFR.

A misunderstanding over the capital cost has sparked tensions with the Mongolian government, which must earn its 34% stake in Oyu Tolgoi once revenue starts coming in.

Rio Tinto had already spent about $US6 billion as at December 31, of a forecast and approved spend of around $6.2 billion.