Independent Senator for the ACT David Pocock has called for an inquiry into why gas companies pay less for gas exports than Australians pay in the beer excise.
Mon 2 Mar 2026 15.00
Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Independent Senator for the ACT David Pocock has called for an inquiry into why gas companies pay less for gas exports than Australians pay in the beer excise.
It comes a week after he added his voice to calls for a 25 per cent tax on gas exports, an idea raised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions last year.
Greens Leader Larissa Waters has previously thrown her support behind the idea, and polling from RedBridge shows the idea is popular with voters across the political landscape, particularly One Nation and the Greens.
Last week, One Nation also announced a policy aimed at charging the gas industry royalties instead of giving them the gas for free.
Senator Pocock’s proposed inquiry would report on:
Australia Institute research shows the Australian Government allows the export of more than 80 per cent of Australia’s gas, and it gives largely foreign-owned gas companies most of the gas they export for free.
Research also shows that the Australian Government collects more revenue from HECS/HELP repayments than from the PRRT, and that nurses pay more tax than the gas industry.
“We’re in this ridiculous situation where, as one of the biggest gas exporters in the world, we have the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax collecting less revenue than beer tax,” Senator Pocock said.
Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of the Australia Institute, said polling results show that a 25 per cent tax on gas exports would be a popular decision among voters from across party lines.
“The economics is easy, the politics is easier still,” Dr Denniss said.
“It is clear the Federal Government is increasingly out of step with voters when it comes to taking on the gas industry.”
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