‘Real desire’: gas tax on the cards at Labor conference
Labour’s upcoming national conference represents the best chance of a tax on gas exports becoming a reality, lawyers say, as senior ministers have downplayed expectations.
Hundreds of delegates will gather in Adelaide from Thursday for Labour’s triennial summit, which will set the party’s official policy agenda.
Items on the agenda in the draft platform include plans to redistribute wealth from sources to the public and increase the possibility of a gas export tax.
“Labour will ensure that the Australian public gets a fairer return on its natural resources, including through appropriate taxation arrangements, while securing its role as a reliable international energy supplier and investment partner,” the draft national platform says.
The government was under pressure to impose a 25 percent tax on gas exports ahead of the federal budget, but the proposal was put on hold following the outbreak of the US war against Iran.
Australia was negotiating with its Southeast Asian allies for fuel supplies in exchange for receiving LNG.
Greg Jericho, chief economist at the Australia Institute, said possible discussions at the conference on gas tax-related issues signaled movement on the issue.
“This really shows that there is a real desire among the party faithful to get something done,” he told AAP.
“There’s a belief that’s growing and has now reached a pretty critical level.”
The independent think tank is among those pushing for the gas tax, running a viral campaign ahead of the budget to pressure the government to implement the measure.
Estimates show that a 25 percent tax would bring an extra $17 billion to the federal budget.
Dr Jericho said the draft platform could use other methods to leverage the fiscal returns of Australia’s resource sector, but a flat tax would be the most effective way to do this.
“We’re not getting a fair return on our gas, we’re not getting a fair return on a non-renewable resource,” he said.
“We can try to reform the oil resources rental tax. We can make a gas superprofit tax or something like that.
“The problem is that we tried to do this. We’ve been trying to do this for over a decade.”
Environment Minister Murray Watt told the conference room that the proposed gas export tax had not yet been seen.
“What we’re trying to do more than anything else when it comes to gas is maximize our fuel security,” he told Sky News.
“I will not speculate about the democratic functioning of our conference, but I think that the vast majority of delegates at this conference support the steps taken by our government.”
