wa change of government, page-7

How exhaustive will the Liberal government's visit to the State Agreement be.

From the "West Australian":

BHP, bidding $122 billion for Rio Tinto Group, may have its iron ore royalty concessions in Western Australia scrapped should its hostile bid succeed, Premier Colin Barnett said.

Rio and BHP, the world’s second and third-largest iron ore suppliers, receive royalty concessions on their Pilbara projects worth about $300 million ($250 million) a year, said Barnett. They pay less than Fortescue Metals Group, he said.

“Why should BHP and Rio pay a far lower rate of royalty?” Barnett said.

A combination of BHP and Rio would control more than a third of the world’s supply of iron ore, and the European Union has expressed “serious doubts” about the takeover. BHP and Rio this week lost an appeal against a court ruling that favours them sharing their rail networks in Western Australia with rivals.

“If BHP succeeds in its takeover bid for Rio Tinto, I think BHP will be coming to the State Government saying we want to renegotiate the State agreements,” Barnett told reporters in Perth today. “I will put on the table other issues. One of those issues will be getting rid of the royalty concession and having the same rate of royalty that would apply to any new mining project.”