Australian union claims fuel subsidies for mining wasted

Australia’s Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has renewed its calls for the Australian government to scrap fuel subsidies for the coal industry in Hunter Valley, New South Wales. CFMEU has told a tax inquiry that the A$0.38 cent (US$0.34) a liter rebate on diesel fuel should either be scrapped or assessed on a mine-by-mine basis. The union’s spokesman, Ian Murray, says the industry claimed A$1.3 billion (US$1.16 billion) last year, most of which went into the pockets of wealthy mining companies. (December 30, 2009)