2026-07-21
The Victorian Greens warn Jacinta Allan’s Labor Government not to further capitulate to vested interests and instead invest in countering gas lobby propaganda. It follows the release of gas industry-funded polling on Victoria’s transition away from gas today.
The poll, commissioned by the Australian Energy Producers, comes amid an expensive, coordinated campaign by the gas industry to protect its profits, including sponsorship deals, advertising campaigns and lobbying designed to slow the transition to cheaper, cleaner renewable energy.
The Greens are calling on the Victorian Labor Government to counter the millions being spent by the gas lobby and invest in a mass public communication focused on the benefits of switching to cheap, clean electrical projects.
The Greens said Victorians are being hit by rising energy bills because governments have failed to invest fast enough in renewable energy and home electrification, while fossil gas companies continue to profit.
The party says that the Australian Gas Network is spending millions in attempting to ‘greenwash’ fossil gas – including by sponsoring Masterchef Australia – because it’s afraid of people switching to cheaper, cleaner electric products.
Since becoming Premier, Jacinta Allan has already walked back Victoria’s commitments to phase out gas and approved the first new gas drilling projects in over a decade.
Quotes attributable to the Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell:
"We know Labor will say or do whatever it thinks will keep it in power, but it must not take its cues from polls funded by the fossil gas corporations profiting from keeping Victorians hooked on fossil fuels."
"The fossil fuel industry is spending millions of dollars plastering its logo across MasterChef, flooding our screens with advertising and even trying to influence what children learn in schools - all so they can keep selling our gas while paying next to no tax."
"What Victorians actually want is lower power bills and hope for the future. That doesn’t happen from caving to big polluters, it happens by investing in cheaper renewable energy, helping households electrify their homes and making big polluters pay for it.”