Mines Minister David Michael ‘very concerned’ by Coolgardie rates hike

Mines Minister David Michael says he is “very concerned” by the Shire of Coolgardie’s huge unimproved value mining rates hike.

During a visit to Kalgoorlie-Boulder on Friday, Mr Michael — who is also the Minister for the Goldfields-Esperance region — said he had spoken with Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley about what steps the State Government might take.

It comes after the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies joined the Eastern Goldfields Prospectors Association to demand State Government intervention following the significant 2025-26 hike.

“I know (Ms Beazley) is looking at those kind of options to see what she’s able to do, and to make sure the department is ensuring that the council is complying with the act,” Mr Michael said.

“It’s very concerning, an increase like that, obviously for an area like Kalgoorlie and the Goldfields . . . exploration is the lifeblood of the industry and we want to have more projects in the future, not less, and to make sure we have more jobs in our region.

“I would have a concern about the mining industry in that council area being able to continue to explore, both smaller operations and even larger operations.

“We know the mining industry needs to always look at ways to give back to communities, but I’m not sure this is the right way.”

The council on Tuesday passed an unimproved value mining rate-in-the dollar of 0.455263 — which was lower than the 0.520300 put out for public consultation and 0.468270 proposed in the meeting’s agenda.

It comes after a budget blowout of more than $6 million was revealed two months ago.

As a former local government councillor of 12 years, Mr Michael said he knew how it felt to gather each year to look at what money was coming in, and what money was coming out.

“I also know that a lot of councils would be also be under some pressure for various projects and infrastructure they have to maintain in their areas, but it’s on the council to make sure they’re planning their finances correctly,” he said.

“I can’t comment on whether that’s happened or not, because I don’t know enough in terms of the ins and outs of the finances, but obviously that’s what I would expect local governments to do.”