Queensland state budget 2022: modest coal royalty hike delivers little towards energy transition

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has a 2022 state budget overflowing with coal royalties, but is facing pressure to speed up the transition to renewables. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

The Queensland government’s decision to increase royalties on record-high coal prices will, inevitably, be spun as a radical move.

On face value, it is a brave decision. Plans to increase taxes on the mining sector have been – to put it mildly – historically fraught. The resources sector has already taken out full-page advertisements in the Courier-Mail, signalling it is up for a fight.