2025-12-01
The Australian Greens have said that any government response to the projected east-coast gas shortage that financially supports new gas fields will not have their support, and are calling for a 25 per cent tax on all LNG exports — a measure proposed by the ACTU and backed by experts including The Australia Institute.
The tax would ensure domestic gas supply is prioritised without incentivising new fossil fuel projects, replacing the deeply flawed Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT), which has failed to collect meaningful revenue from LNG exporters due to massive loopholes.
The announcement comes as the Government prepares to release its strategy to address east-coast gas supply shortage projected from 2028, in response to the joint Gas Market Review.
The volume of uncontracted gas currently being exported is more than enough to meet forecast domestic shortfalls, yet Australian households, who have seen gas prices triple since exports began, have received no compensation for the cost-of-living crisis created by gas corporations.
The money raised should be used to compensate households for the cost impacts caused by gas exporters and help Australia get off gas.
Lines attributable to the Australian Greens spokesperson for resources Senator Steph Hodgins-May:
“Government and industry lies are quickly unravelling. We don’t have a gas shortage, we have a gas export problem.
“If Labor brings forward an option that incentivises new gas and hands more rewards to the corporations that have been ripping off Australians, they won’t have the support of the Greens.
“Since gas exports began, prices have tripled. Gas corporations created this crisis, and Australian households have paid for it with no compensation.
“We don’t need new gas fields to meet demand. We need to stop our own gas being shipped overseas while Australian families struggle to heat their homes.
“A tax on exports is the best way to redirect existing supply to Australians, raise the revenue needed to compensate households, and help us get off gas quickly and fairly — without opening new climate-wrecking gas projects.
“These companies have pillaged our environment and our resources. Labor needs to cut ties with the gas lobby, tax exports, and commit to a fast and fair transition off gas — one that finally puts households ahead of gas corporations.”
Lines attributable to the Australian Greens spokesperson for economic justice and treasury, Senator Nick McKim:
“Australian nurses pay more tax than some of the biggest gas corporations in the country. That tells you everything about how broken the system is.”
“The PRRT has become a massive joke at the expense of working Australians.
“It barely raises a cent while companies make eyewatering profits off a resource that belongs to all of us.”
“The PRRT is now beyond repair. The only credible path is to tax exports properly and use the revenue to support households instead of padding corporate balance sheets.”
“Gas giants have had a free ride for far too long. It’s time to finally make them pay their fair share.”