Economic action strategy to 'reboot investor confidence' in resources

At a visit to the mining industry's heart at Broken Hill to attend the Resources and Investment Symposium, Macfarlane said the government would not be deterred from its primary focus of rebuilding the nation's economy and restoring investor confidence after six years of Labor's debt and deficit disaster.

"The resources sector is one of the lynchpins of our economy.  It contributes about 10 per cent of GDP, employs around 270,000 Australians and supports the incomes of another 800,000," Macfarlane said.

"The Australian government's priority has been to send a very clear message that Australia is back open for business after six years in which the Labor government hit the heavy lifter of our economy – the resources sector – with new taxes, constantly rewrote the rules for investment and launched a series of class warfare attacks against the industry, instead of encouraging Australians to be proud of it.

Future success

"Australia's future economic successes and jobs will continue to come from the resources sector.  The Australian government recognises this and that's why we will not relent on our plan to scrap the carbon tax and the Minerals Resource Rent Tax.

"Both of these taxes have been a drag on Australia's mining sector, by undermining its international competitiveness and discouraging growth and investment.

"The MRRT is nothing more than a bureaucratic burden for the resources sector.  It's a badly designed tax that raises virtually no revenue, but slugs resources companies with millions of dollars in compliance costs.

"The carbon tax and the mining tax are bad for the economy, bad for jobs and bad for investment.

"At the last election the Australian people gave a clear verdict on both these taxes – they want to see them scrapped.

"The Australian government recognises the importance of the resources sector in creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, supporting local communities and generating national revenue.

"Rebooting the sector will be an essential plank in rebuilding the economy after Labor's legacy of record debt," he said.

"The government will not shirk the responsibility we have been entrusted with to get the economy back on track and bring the national debt under control."