Two Greenpeace Australia Pacific activists have been arrested following a peaceful protest at the Australian Domestic Gas Outlook conference in Sydney, where they dropped a banner with the words “Gas Execs Profit. We Pay The Price” and held banners saying “Tax Gas Profits”.
The two activists were arrested by police and taken to Day Street Police Station. Information on this morning’s gas conference disruption can be found here.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific campaigner Solaye Snider said, “Greenpeace activists have taken a strong stand today against profit hungry gas corporations and lobbyists, who see horrific global wars as an opportunity to price gouge and profiteer, while everyday people pay the price.
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“Australians have had enough of gas corporations like Santos and ConocoPhillips ripping us off, leaving us with nothing but empty pockets and climate damage. The gas industry is aggressively lobbying against being fairly taxed and pushing to drill for more gas. Change requires showing up and speaking out, and that’s what these activists have done today.
“Greenpeace Australia Pacific stands by our activists, and stands with all communities who are peacefully fighting for a safe and clean energy future. The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental pillar of a healthy democracy and a basic right of all Australians.”
Gas companies have been under scrutiny in recent weeks, with ACT Independent Senator David Pocock pushing for a Senate inquiry into what he calls the “extraordinarily low” amount of Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) paid by gas companies on LNG exports.
Proposed as the “Select Committee on Why Gas Companies Pay Less for Offshore Liquid Natural Gas than Australians Pay in Beer Excise”, the inquiry would examine the amount of Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) paid on Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and why it is so low compared to policies in other jurisdictions, such as Norway and Qatar, and considering the Australian Council of Trade Union’s proposal for a 25% tax on gas export revenue.
The inquiry would also examine the impact on Australian businesses and households of the increase in gas prices since 2016 and what could be done with the additional revenue generated by effectively taxing the offshore LNG industry.
Senator Pocock said Australians have had enough of multinational gas companies profiting off our resources without providing a fair return.
“We get one chance to capture the benefits of the LNG boom and invest in the things Australians need most: housing, health, education,” Senator Pocock said.
“Currently we are squandering what Norway has turned into a $3 trillion dollar sovereign wealth fund.
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“Governments of all political persuasions are constantly telling us budgets are about priorities and asking for solutions, this proposal ticks both those boxes.
“I call on the major parties to stand up for what the people they’ve been elected to represent want to see and that’s big companies paying more to export our gas than Australians pay on beer excise.”
