Sometimes budget papers hide in plain sight critical information. And this year’s was no different. Buried among the usual forecasts for iron ore, coal and LNG export earnings was a commodity Canberra rarely talks about: gold.For decades, gold has occupied an awkward place in Australia’s economic story. Iron ore built the budget surpluses. Coal powered Asia. LNG was the great energy export hope.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
There’s a global gold rush. But Australia’s the hardest place to mine it
A growing web of red tape and increasingly uncompetitive royalty and taxation settings are steadily eroding Australia’s attractiveness as a mining destination.
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