Australia is on the verge of passing a 25% gas export tax after the Greens and crossbench agreed to support the government's proposal, marking a dramatic shift in the nation's resource policy as the global energy crisis intensifies.
The tax could pass parliament within weeks, according to The Point, with the crossbench giving Labor the numbers it needs to legislate the measure over Coalition opposition.
Mate, there's a whole continent and a thousand islands down here that matter. And right now, Canberra is scrambling to balance domestic energy security with its role as a major LNG exporter to Asia.
The timing reveals the contradictions in Australia's energy diplomacy. Just as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been phoning Asian leaders to offer Australia's LNG as a solution to the global fuel crisis, his government is preparing to slap a hefty tax on those same exports.
The 25% levy represents one of the most significant interventions in Australia's resource sector in decades. Gas producers have long enjoyed generous tax treatment, with many major LNG projects paying minimal petroleum resource rent tax despite billions in export revenue.
Greens leader Adam Bandt has been pushing for even stronger measures, arguing that gas companies have profited enormously from the global energy crisis while ordinary Australians face soaring power bills. The tax is designed to both raise revenue and create a financial disincentive for exports when domestic gas supplies are tight.
But the policy puts Canberra in an awkward position. Australia is simultaneously marketing itself as a reliable energy partner to Singapore, Japan, and other nations while making it more expensive to actually deliver that gas.
