Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that next month's federal budget will not include a new tax on existing gas export contracts, while taking a moment to criticize the 'populist' campaign pushing for exactly that. Apparently, asking multinational corporations to pay a bit more is now considered fringe behavior.
Speaking at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia on Wednesday, Albanese argued that slapping a 25% tax on gas exports during a global fuel crisis would be like trying to refuel your car while it's on fire. 'This is why I can confirm that the budget will not undermine existing contracts on gas exports,' he said, directly tying gas exports to Australia's fuel security.
Advocates for the proposed levy - which would replace the current petroleum resource rent tax (PPRT) - argue the existing system is broken and fails to extract sufficient revenue from gas giants. Albanese defended his government's 2023 tweaks to the PRRT, calling them a 'sensible' design that accounts for upfront investments of 'tens of billions of dollars.' Without that investment, he warned, there would be no domestic gas reservation in WA, a point he claims is 'lost in some of the populist rhetoric, whether it be the sort of coalition of the far left or the far right.'
Independent Senator David Pocock, who has spearheaded the campaign for an export tax, called the decision 'disappointing' given the significant public support. 'We have a government who, at every turn, seems to side with multinational companies, multinational gas exporters, ahead of the Australian people,' Pocock told ABC radio.
Konrad Benjamin, the force behind the social media account Punters Politics, was less diplomatic, accusing Albanese of calling everyday Australians 'dishonest' and 'populist' for listening to independent economists and former Treasury secretary Ken Henry. 'Politician Albanese didn't call out the gas corporations today, he called out the punters,' Benjamin told Guardian Australia.