Wyatt calls for retraction from CME

• Media statement released by CME has been discredited by the ASX as incorrect
• CME has yet to remove the statement from its website 

Treasurer Ben Wyatt has demanded the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia remove a media statement from its website which has been discredited by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

The media statement claimed the ASX had compared Western Australia to Tanzania in the wake of the State Government's decision to increase the gold royalty rate.

The ASX advised yesterday (September 26) that these claims were outrageous and incorrect and asked for them to be withdrawn.

The change to the gold royalty rate from 2.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent was announced in the State Budget on September 7 and will take effect from January 1, 2018.

Comments attributed to Treasurer Ben Wyatt:

"These claims by the CME are simply incorrect, and have been called out as such by the ASX. It had to do the responsible thing and remove the statement from its website.

"I have consistently appealed to the gold industry to provide data to support their claims, but they continue to resort to rhetoric and hyperbole.

"As the leading representative body for the resources industry in Western Australia, I am surprised and disappointed that the CME would promote the comparison of our State with Tanzania. I do not see how this advances the interests of its members.

"The CME's membership includes some of Australia's most respected listed companies. I am surprised they would condone the organisation making false claims about the ASX, and then not taking sufficient action to withdraw those claims.

"I would have expected more from the CME, whose membership should understand the importance of not misleading the market."

Treasurer's office - 6552 5900