The Australian Greens, along with Independent ACT Senator David Pocock and other crossbenchers, have secured a Select Committee to look at taxing Australia’s oil and gas exports, setting the ground for changes in the May budget.
The Select Committee, to be chaired by Greens spokesperson for resources Senator Steph Hodgins-May, will examine how fairer taxation of gas exports could deliver billions in public revenue to ease the cost of living and reduce reliance on imported fuels.
Recent polling shows strong and growing support across the political spectrum for making gas corporations pay more for selling Australia’s resources.
Related article: Pocock proposes Senate inquiry into gas export tax
Greens Leader Senator Larissa Waters said, “Gas corporations are ripping us all off and paying virtually no tax. While people are struggling to pay bills and seeing the cost of living go through the roof, gas corporations shouldn’t get a free ride.
“For years rich gas corporations have got most of their gas for free, shipped it overseas for maximum profit, and now they’re making eyewatering profits off the back of the war.
“The free ride is over. People are fed up with gas industry greed and Labor’s refusal to tax gas corporations to fund cost of living support. This is money that should be helping people pay the bills and have what they need to live a good life.”
Independent Senator David Pocock said Australian gas companies pay an “extraordinarily low” amount of Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) on LNG exports.
Senator Pocock proposed an inquiry to 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.
Norway imposes a heavy 78% total tax rate on oil and gas profits, including a 56% special tax and 22% corporate tax, designed to ensure high returns for the state. This tax, applied to profits from extracted resources sold offshores, funds the nation’s massive $1.9 trillion sovereign wealth fund and public services.
However, gas majors including Shell and Chevron have warned against introducing a windfall tax on gas exports, saying it would deter investment and undermine energy security.
Shell Australia chair Cecile Wake warned against “short-term fixes” in response to the energy crisis.
“At times like this, there is increased risk that strong and stable policy settings are sidelined by short‑term measures or populist rhetoric,” she told the Australian Domestic Gas Outlook conference in Sydney.
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Wake said the proposed policies would “erode project values and render many of Australia’s future growth opportunities uneconomic and uncompetitive compared to global alternatives.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has asked Treasury to model options for a tax on gas companies’ windfall profits, as well as to suggest reforms to the PRRT ahead of the annual budget in May.
