Mining quarantined from SA tax hike as Treasurer jabs anti-vaxxers
Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis confirmed the mining industry will be immune from future SA tax rate hikes, as he takes a jab at anti-vax theories at a major business lunch.
South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis labelled claims the mining industry was under-taxed in Australia as a “myth” at a major business lunch this afternoon, later having a crack at anti-vaccine rhetoric.
Resources were taxed “appropriately” in Australia, the Treasurer said in response to a question asking whether he would raise taxation rates on miners to create a sovereign wealth fund.
“There is, unfortunately, a myth growing that the mining industry is under-taxed in this country,” he said at the CEDA SA State Budget Address 2026.
“I am, as a Treasurer, probably more than happy to tax more, but we don’t. We don’t have a mandate to do so, keeping promises is very important.
“And two, I think the resources sector and the level of investment that they’re making in the state warrant a competitive tax system. They can take that money, and they can spend it elsewhere.”
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The Treasurer also dismissed the idea of SA having its own sovereign wealth fund, saying “we should be managing all of our resources to pay down that debt”.
Last week, the Treasurer revealed that state debt would hit almost $54 billion by 2030, more than $3 billion more than expected, Koutsantonis adamant it would be serviceable and “sustainable”.
“Sovereign wealth funds are a good idea if you don’t have any debt to sustain,” Koutsantonis said.
His comments followed a presentation of the 2026/27 state budget to public and private sector leaders, where Koutsantonis outlined his various spending measures as announced last week.
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When asked in a Q&A with CEDA CEO Melinda Cilento about health spending, the Treasurer said it was “crazy” that Australian society was “actually having a debate about whether vaccines are safe”.
“If I’m on a street corner meeting in my electorate, the first half hour is dealing with vaccines,” Koutsantonis said.
“Meanwhile, we’re heading into flu season with an ageing population and we know what happens next.
“I’m getting more and more pessimistic about our ability to continue to do this without speaking more truth to power, the power I’m talking about is the public.”
His comments come just weeks after the state’s Health Minister Blair Boyer vowed to fight back against anti-vax “trolls” after being hounded by thousands over a social media post.
Boyer was swamped by a backlash of criticism from anti-vaxxers on social media after posting an image of himself receiving a Covid-19 booster shot to Facebook last Friday night.
The post amassed more than 4000 comments, with most criticising the vaccination, before Boyer’s social media team disabled the function.
Boyer told InDaily he would not be “deterred by online bullies” as he continued to advocate for the health of all South Australians.
“The abuse and lies spread by online trolls are exactly why I am making it my priority as Health Minister to fight back against attempts to undermine vaccinations,” Boyer said.
“Vaccinations save lives. That is a fact. If people stop getting vaccinated, we will see more preventable diseases reappear in the community – resulting in greater illness and death.”
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