16 AUGUST 2012adelaidenow.com.au
Carbon tax blamed for Queensland smelter job cuts
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
1 min read
The federal opposition says the carbon tax is partly responsible for 90 job losses at Australia's largest aluminium smelter in Queensland.
Opposition industry spokeswoman Sophie Mirabella says an organisation restructure, as well as a blow-out in operating costs, taxes and over-regulation has hit Boyne Smelters hard.
"With the industry operating on such small profit margins, it's no surprise that the added expense of the carbon tax is the last straw for many businesses," she said in a statement.
Boyne Smelters, near Gladstone in central Queensland, has a production capacity of 545,000 tonnes of aluminium per year and employs 1500 people.
It is 59 per cent owned by Rio Tinto.
It is the second Rio Tinto project in Queensland revealed as being under pressure in a week.
Rio Tinto announced last Wednesday its Blair Athol mine, also in central Queensland, would close by the end of the year instead of 2016 as previously planned.
Opposition industry spokeswoman Sophie Mirabella says an organisation restructure, as well as a blow-out in operating costs, taxes and over-regulation has hit Boyne Smelters hard.
"With the industry operating on such small profit margins, it's no surprise that the added expense of the carbon tax is the last straw for many businesses," she said in a statement.
Boyne Smelters, near Gladstone in central Queensland, has a production capacity of 545,000 tonnes of aluminium per year and employs 1500 people.
It is 59 per cent owned by Rio Tinto.
It is the second Rio Tinto project in Queensland revealed as being under pressure in a week.
Rio Tinto announced last Wednesday its Blair Athol mine, also in central Queensland, would close by the end of the year instead of 2016 as previously planned.
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