ACT Independent Senator David Pocock has tabled a motion proposing to establish a special senate committee to inquire 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.
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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.
The inquiry would comprise two Labor, two Coalition and one crossbench senator alongside Senator Pocock as Chair, and report in May 2026.
The proposal will be put to a vote in the Senate today.
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.
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“Currently we are squandering what Norway has turned into a $3 trillion dollar sovereign wealth fund.
“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.”
