UPDATE: The Liberal Party has officially voted to support a disallowance motion against the Labor Government’s proposed gold royalty hike.
A majority of 22 Liberal MPs are expected to vote in the Western Australian State Parliament Upper House against the Mark McGowan-led Labor Government’s plan to raise gold royalty fees by 50 per cent.
There had been some debate among the Liberal Party’s direction on the matter in recent weeks, and indications of an internal split between Upper House and Lower House members.
The hike, planned to be implemented in January 2018, would see royalties rise from 2.5 to 3.75 per cent for gold prices above $1200 an ounce, significantly affecting mining coffers as a result.
Liberal MPs are currently considered to be under federal pressure to oppose Labor’s royalty rise in order to preserve control of Goldfields-Esperance, which is located within the confines of MP Rick Wilson’s O’Connor seat and currently hotly contested by the likewise hike-opposing National Party.