Gas lobby using tobacco tactics, former SA Premier warns

Delivering the Australia Institute’s annual Hugh Saddler Memorial Lecture in Adelaide, Mr Rann claimed that, for fossil fuel polluters, “gas has become the lifeline that vaping was for the tobacco lobby.” 

The comments stand in stark contrast to the publicly pro-gas position of multiple State Governments and the Federal Liberal Opposition, who officially abandoned their net zero policy this week. 

Mike Rann, who was SA Premier from 2002 to 2011 and strongly supported early renewable energy investment in the state, detailed how the influence of the fossil fuel lobby is leveraged and how its impact is felt in international climate negotiations, such as the UN’s annual climate summit, known as the COP. 

“Every COP attracts a swarm of many hundreds of fossil fuel lobbyists corralling delegates,” Mr Rann said. “Politicians might say they can’t be bought, but over the years some have clearly been rented when donations were big enough. 

“Battalions of lobbyists are in Brazil right now and will be coming to COP 31 (in 2026), desperate to avoid any commitment to phase out the cause of the problem that threatens billions of people on our planet.” 

Lending his support to an Australia Institute petition calling for a ban on fossil fuel lobbyists at a potential Australian COP next year, Mr Rann said that the outsized influence of the sector in Australia caused some to question the level of Australia’s commitment to tackling climate change on the international stage. 

“Australia’s continued approval of new and expanded coal mines and its massive embrace of a gas industry continuing well beyond 2050 means Australia is often seen internationally as walking both sides of the street on climate,” he said. 

Calling out the central objective of the fossil fuel industry as being continued governmental support for gas exploration, production, and almost tax-free exports, Mr Rann said now was the right time for the Federal Government to act on the issue. 

“Like the Australia Institute, I am appalled that multinational gas companies are making massive, multibillion dollar profits from exporting Australian resources while paying little or no tax. Fixing this could be a big, first step in the second term tax reform agenda of the Albanese Government.” 

Making the comments in the city of Adelaide, South Australia, where the 2026 UN conference is slated to be held if Australia wins hosting rights, Rann was unequivocal about the corrosive impact of fossil fuel lobbyists in Australian and international climate negotiations, such as COP. 

“Essentially, they just want to get a hold of any delegate and try to convince them – I’m going to be polite here – convince them to say ‘look, not yet. Great idea, but not yet,’” he said.  

“And they’re constantly promising there’s a new solution. 

“I mean, I got this when I was premier. A number of people from various energy organisations were saying to me… ‘you don’t need to be quite so aggressive about this because there’s going to be carbon capture and storage just around the corner’. 

“That was in 2004 I was being told that, and that’s exactly the line that is being used today.”