Andrew Hastie open to 25% tax on gas profits and says multinationals have ‘had a really good run’ on Australian wealth | US-Israel war on Iran
Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie has said he is open to a new 25% tax on rising gas profits as part of a Scandinavian-style sovereign wealth fund to shore up the federal budget amid the global energy crisis.
Budget leaks show the Albanian government is modeling the effects of imposing a flat 25 percent tax on gas profits, as well as possible further changes to the oil resource rent tax (PRRT) and corporate income tax.
The moves by the Ministry of the Prime Minister and the Undersecretariat of Cabinet and Treasury also come at the same time as dire warnings about US economic influence and Israeli bombing of Iran. The Iranian regime’s efforts to cut global oil supplies by closing the Strait of Hormuz have sparked the world’s worst energy crisis.
Hastie, the shadow minister for industry and sovereign capacity and Western Australian MP, said there was growing public concern about the huge profits of resource giants.
Income from natural resources needs to be managed carefully, he told Guardian Australia’s Australian Politics podcast. The proposed new gas tax is backed by the Greens, crossover candidate David Pocock and campaign groups.
“I think a lot of people, Australians, think that multinationals don’t have social licence, that they’re really good stewards of our wealth here, and so I sympathize with that point of view,” Hastie said.
“I know how important these industries are to Australia, so I’d like to get this right. So I guess I’m keeping an open mind about these questions.”
He said social media was filled with “strong and evident” anger at corporate profits from all walks of politics.
Pointing to Norway’s sovereign wealth fund – the world’s largest, worth more than US$2.2 trillion ($3.2 trillion) – Hastie said Australia needed to plan better for its own economic future.
“I would love to see an Australian sovereign wealth fund to prepare us for future generations.
“Across the political spectrum, I think we need to be talking about balancing budgets. If we expect Australian families to make their budgets work, why shouldn’t the government?”
“I think it’s an unpopular thing to do, but I think it’s a conversation we need to have.”
The gas giants have signaled that they will fight against any new taxes. Lobby group Australian Energy Producers said a new export tax would come at “the worst possible time for the Australian economy and energy security”.
Hastie’s position could also put him at odds with senior Liberals, including opposition leader Angus Taylor.
Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson said last week that “considering adding new taxes to address the fuel and energy crisis would be next-stage denial as it would freeze investment and private employment growth”.
International Energy Agency President Fatih Birol warned the Albanian government this week that sudden changes to corporate taxes would scare investors.
Hastie said he believes U.S. president Donald Trump, emboldened by the success of last year’s bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities and the success of the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, was “overly confident” in launching the Feb. 28 attacks.
“I think the expectation was that this would be a short war, but the enemy always has one vote and Iran is using the geography in the Strait of Hormuz to its advantage,” he said.
“They use this to put great pressure on American allies who are dependent on hydrocarbon imports from the Middle East.”
Hastie said the post-Cold War rules-based order was dead and “the peace dividend that was the basis of our commerce and prosperity is also buried in the graveyard.”
