STATEMENTS BY SENATORS
Senator DAVID POCOCK (Australian Capital Territory—Independent ACT Whip) (12:58): Here in Canberra, the capital city with the highest fuel prices in the country, petrol has gone past $2.25 a litre, diesel is higher and it's pushing prices up across the board—freight, groceries, every tradie's ute and every delivery van. We politicians either drive EVs or have a petrol card, so we're not paying that cost.
It's Australians who are. This is the second time in less than five years we've suffered due to fossil fuel price shocks. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Australian gas and power bills went through the roof.
Fossil fuel prices are volatile by nature, set by events we cannot control and by people who will never face the Australian voter. Here in Australia we're actually a net energy exporter, but we continue to suffer even when prices go up globally. Around 80 per cent of our gas is exported.
We're one of the biggest LNG exporters on the planet. When the world price spikes, we should be in a position to benefit, not to pay through the nose here in Australia and not receive a benefit. We know that 56 per cent of our LNG exporters pay no royalty at all, not a cent for the resource itself.
PRRT last financial year was paltry, bringing in just $1.4 billion. The beer excise raises $2.7 billion. Passports are heading towards $1 billion.
Sure, we'll have both major parties say, 'Well, there are all sorts of other taxes that they pay like corporate tax, payroll tax—add every other tax you can possibly try and cobble together.' We're talking about the resource itself, this finite resource, that belongs to all Australians, and we still have no export tax. We've got a government that is so gutless on this issue they couldn't even put in place a windfall profits tax after the war in Ukraine kicked off and we saw gas companies making eye watering profits.
Nothing. They're very happy for Woodside, Santos, Impex, Chevron, Shell and the rest to pocket that and for it to not come to the Australian people. Since July 2022 we've forgone more than $76 billion in revenue because we don't have a 25 per cent gas export tax.
That's nearly $50 million a day. Think about the need in this country. Think about the things that we can't pay for.
Think about a government squeezing veterans to save money. And yet we're not willing to actually get a fair return on the gas that belongs to all of us. Instead of getting a fair return for our gas, the government has proposed a gas reservation scheme.
I strongly support a domestic gas reservation scheme. As a crossbencher, I'll work in good faith to strengthen it. But, as drafted, there's far too much ministerial discretion and I'm concerned about loopholes.
When we know that the Minister for Resources is accepting tickets from Woodside to go to the footy and to do other things, you have to ask questions about this set-up. We know that the government has tried to use the domestic reservation policy as a shield from the demands of Australians to have a gas export tax, but it is not a substitute for a gas export tax.
This is a finite resource that belongs to all Australians, and Australians should be getting a fair share on the export of that resource. Once it's shipped, it's gone. It is gone and we miss out.
We could be using the additional revenue from a gas export tax to actually electrify homes, businesses and transport, to be insulating ourselves from these huge global shocks and to be investing in things that are actually anti-inflationary at a time where we see inflation wreaking havoc. And so let's be clear here. The campaign for a 25 per cent gas export tax is not going away no matter how much the government tries to ignore it and pretend like it didn't come from the ACTU.
It's not going away. It's here to stay. One day we'll make it happen.