Gas giants splurged on ads before government killed off windfall profit tax idea
The energy industry has flooded Australia with ads opposing a 25 per cent tax on oil and gas exports, halving its media spend from a year ago as the proposed policy gains massive support in the early months of 2026.
The main lobby group for resources companies launched a new campaign this year after rising fuel prices and rising costs of living caused by the Iran war led to support for a new tax on gas exports; but this was ultimately rejected by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The industry, led by the Australian Energy Producers gas lobby, which represents companies such as Shell and BHP, spent 48 per cent more on advertising between January and March compared to the same period in 2025.
This spending paid for a campaign highlighting the contributions the sector already makes to the Australian economy and the taxes it already pays.
According to figures provided by Guideline SMI, this increase represented an advertising blitz of $11.2 million; this figure was even more pronounced against the background of a generally falling advertising market. Australia’s total advertising market shrank by 5 per cent in March alone.
The increase in advertising spending, which does not include spending by utility companies, continued in April, although full figures for the month are not yet available.
A 25 percent tax on gas giants’ windfall profits has become a populist policy this year, especially as living costs have soared and fuel prices have soared since the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran in late February.
In response, Australian Energy Producers launched the ‘Australia runs on gas’ campaign in early 2026, arguing that the sector would contribute $21.9 billion in taxes and royalties in 2024-25, supporting Australia’s energy security.
These statistics were disputed by independent senator David Pocock, who together with the influencer Konrad Benjamin, later known as Punters Politics, led the push for changes to the existing Petroleum Resources Rent Tax.
Shell said adopting this policy would destabilize trade ties with Asian partners and make it harder for the government to secure deliveries of oil, diesel and jet fuel.
Albanese said last month it was the “worst possible time” to risk Australia’s relationship with gas investors in Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. These countries are some of Australia’s largest suppliers of refined fuels. Australia imports about 90 percent of its petrol and diesel.
“Our gas exports are directly linked to our national fuel security,” Albanese said. He didn’t include an unexpected tax in last week’s budget; The tax would generate an additional $17.1 billion in tax revenue in the 2023-24 financial year, according to costs by the left-wing Australia Institute. This month he rejected the proposed policy, calling it a “slogan.”
Part of the campaign by Pocock and others compared federal taxes on gas exports with an excise tax on beer (totaling $2.7 billion). The government expects to receive about $1.5 billion from the PRRT levy this fiscal year.
Australia’s gas exporters will benefit from a huge revenue boost from exports to Asia in the coming months, which could help boost $65 billion in revenue from shipping LNG overseas in the 2025 calendar year. Pocock and Australian Energy Producers have been contacted for comment.
The Albanian government has moved to introduce a gas reservation scheme in eastern Australia from July next year. Exporters of liquefied natural gas are required to reserve up to 20 percent of their overseas shipments for domestic consumers.
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Calum Jaspan is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect with: X or email.
