Article by Sarah-Jane Tasker courtesy of the West Australian.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers warns it will be “diabolical” for industry if the Coalition opposes its gas tax changes, a decision he argues will force Labor to deal with the Greens and crossbench to get the policy through Federal Parliament.
That scenario appears increasingly likely after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton launched another attack on planned tweaks to the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax as he doubled down on claims Labor wanted gas “gone”.
Mr Dutton also vowed to overturn the Government’s gas interventions if it won the next election, as he urged the industry to stand up and fight against the market meddling.
If the Coalition opposes the PRRT changes, which are forecast to raise $2.4 billion in the next four years, Labor would need the votes of the Greens and two crossbenchers to get it through the Senate. Greens leader Adam Bandt and independent senator David Pocock on Thursday made it clear Labor would be pushed to extract more revenue from gas giants.
“Labor shouldn’t take our support for granted,” Mr Bandt told The West.
Senator Pocock said: “This is our gas. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. We should be getting a fair return”.
Dr Chalmers, speaking at The West Australian’s Leadership Matters event on Thursday, said it would not be good for industry, Western Australia or the nation if the Greens were dealt into negotiations.
“The best way to make changes like these is for the big parties in the Parliament to recognise that this is a sensible, methodical change that recognises our needs when it comes to investment and supply and trade,” Dr Chalmers, pictured, said.
“It would be diabolical for Australian industry to see the Coalition vacate the field and to leave a policy as important as this to the whims of the Senate.”
Under the Government’s planned change, the proportion of PRRT assessable income, which could be offset, would be limited to 90 per cent.
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association is not resisting the change, which would mean a far smaller hit to oil and gas companies than other options canvassed in a Treasury department review of the tax settings.
The lobby group’s chief executive, Samantha McCulloch, even described the change as “relatively modest” in her closing speech to its conference in Adelaide.
Mr Dutton, speaking at APPEA’s conference on Thursday, warned oil and gas companies impacted by Labor’s market interventions that the “worst is yet to come” with a looming shake-up of the national environment protection system.
He said the Coalition would fight for the oil and gas sector. But he also challenged it to stand up to the Government and defend their industry, implying that some companies were keeping quiet amid fears of a social media backlash.
“But if you don’t speak up now, I think it’s just going to put the sector at even more risk,” Mr Dutton said.
“It’s our country’s future prosperity that we’re talking about. And we need you to work with us to push back against this government’s detrimental policies.”