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- A property buyback scheme for residents of Port Hedland affected by dust pollution will be funded by the shipping companies
- The companies will be taxed $13,450 per major shipload to fund the $200 million scheme
- How these shipping companies alleviate the tax stress will fall to them, according to Minister for Ports, Alannah MacTiernan
- Major companies such as BHP (BHP) and Fortescue Metals (FMG) were considered during negotiations
- But Shipping Australia Chief Executive, Melwyn Noronha, claims the onus of pollution lies with the Port Authority themselves and that shipping companies are not to blame
Companies moving iron ore out of Port Hedland will be taxed to fund a property buyback scheme.
The new shipping fees will be used to address the issue of dust pollution in the West Australian region.
Starting in March, a $13,450 tax will be applied to each major ship load of iron ore being exported. This levy will be mandated by the Pilbara Ports Authority.
In December last year, 46.5 million tonnes of iron ore left the shores of Port Hedland.
The West Australian Government will use the taxed income to compensate Port Hedland residents affected by the dust.
Roughly 400 households are involved in the compensation scheme as part of a $200 million voluntary property buyback.
However, some are unhappy with the approach to solution.
Shipping Australia Chief Executive, Melwyn Noronha, claimed in an interview with the ABC the onus of pollution was on the Port Authority themselves.
“[The industry] is not responsible for [the dust] pollution,” he said.
Noronha claimed that an airtight procedure for handling the mining spoils means there is “there is no chance of any pollution”.
“So all the pollution that could be caused during the loading processes is by the Port Authority,” he added.
“The WA Government should be paying for this buyback”.
Melwyn also said the government specifically chose an “easy target” for the tax scheme and ignored other parties.
“[The government] looked for the point of least resistance, they are all international ships that come here, so they look for the easy source of that income,” he said.
WA Minister for Regional Development and Ports, Alannah MacTiernan, said negotiations were made with mining giants such as Fortescue Metals (FMG) and BHP (BHP) to propose the deal.
This week, MacTiernan showed no interest in softening the tax for the shipping companies.
“Now it’s up to the shippers to negotiate with the iron ore customers, either the miners or the purchasers, to get that money back,” she said.
“We are very, very sure that the industry will be able to sort it out amongst themselves as to who pays it”.
The buyback scheme will run for three years.
