Anthony Albanese has ignored a man who ambushed him in the street as he demanded answers about “who benefits” from Australia’s gas industry.
The Prime Minister was walking into the ABC Radio office in Perth on Monday when he suddenly encountered a young Australian man.
“Prime Minister, I’m glad to see you. I just want to know who benefits from Australia’s gas industry,” the man asked.
‘What I want to know is where is the money for gas? Why do teachers pay more taxes than the gas industry?’
The prime minister refused to respond to the man when he arrived at the radio station and when he left, instead telling him to “have a nice day.”
“Are you kidding me?” the man asked when Mr Albanese, surrounded by security personnel, refused to answer.
‘Are you toxic?’
Anthony Albanese was ambushed by a man on the street in Perth demanding answers about who benefits from Australia’s gas industry.
The man was referring to information from independent think tank The Australia Institute which said Australian teachers pay more in personal income tax “than the entire oil and gas industry pays in corporate tax and Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT).”
“Over the past ten years, ATO data shows that all Australian school teachers paid $95 billion in personal income tax – an average of $9.5 billion a year,” the organisation said.
‘In contrast, the oil and gas industry paid $12.5 billion in PRRT and $33 billion in corporate taxes over the past ten years, or an average of just $4.6 billion per year.
“The oil and gas industry employs few people and pays little tax. Instead, the profits from Australian gas extraction flow overseas, to predominantly foreign owners. Australians are largely left behind.”
The think tank also said six of Australia’s 10 LNG exporting facilities pay no royalties to state or federal governments.
“These facilities represent 56 percent of Australia’s gas export capacity. This means that more than half of the gas exported from Australia is provided free of charge to the companies that export it,” the organisation said.
Gas companies are supposed to pay royalties for the right to produce and sell Australian gas, but the Commonwealth does not collect royalties from most offshore projects.
“The Commonwealth decides to charge royalties on North West Shelf gas, but decides not to charge royalties on other offshore projects,” said Australia Institute chief executive Richard Denniss.
The Australia Institute said royalty-free LNG exports were valued at $149 billion.
The man was referring to information from independent think tank The Australia Institute, which said Australian teachers pay more in personal income tax “than the entire oil and gas industry pays in corporate tax and Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT)” (pictured is an oil rig in Australia).
“To put it another way, in the last four years alone, Australians have given away $149 billion worth of LNG-generated gas for free,” he said.
Several oil and gas companies paid little or no corporate income tax in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, including oil giant Chevron, which paid just $30 in taxes.
The oil company claimed it owed nothing after suffering losses of $1.8 billion in its own fiscal transparency report.
Under the PRRT, companies must pay taxes on profits from gas projects, but only after covering the initial costs of developing those facilities.
“In the past four years alone, Australians have given away $149 billion worth of LNG-generated gas,” the Australia Institute report said.
An ATO crackdown has seen taxes paid by these companies rise significantly, with the oil and gas industry now on track to pay $17 billion in taxes this financial year, according to the latest Australian Energy Producers survey.
The payment is up from $16.3 billion paid last fiscal year and includes corporate income tax, petroleum resource revenue tax (PRRT), state royalties and excise taxes.
“The latest survey results represent the largest revenue contribution to date, helping governments fund essential services and infrastructure such as roads, schools and hospitals,” said Australian Energy Producers chief executive Samantha McCulloch.
‘The survey also showed the industry will spend more than $41 billion on Australian goods and services this financial year, supporting jobs, businesses and local communities.’
Australia was the world’s seventh-largest gas producer in 2022.
Liquefied natural gas exports hit a record 81 million tonnes.