Labor’s obstinance on gas tax reform reflects a broader pattern of political incrementalism, their capture by fossil fuel interests, and a desire to attract more conservative votes — a pattern that will likely come back to bite them later.
Thu 30 Apr 2026 09.45
Photo: AAP Image/Richard Wainwright
“The only thing I am concentrating on when it comes to fuel is supply,” said Anthony Albanese when pushed on gas taxes at a mining breakfast on Wednesday.
He also clarified that the federal budget, to be handed down in just a couple of weeks, “will not undermine existing contracts on gas exports”.
Albanese speaks in riddles. No one can say definitively whether he ruled out a gas tax or not, which is why the response was so varied. But the winds are blowing as if he won’t, at least not in any way that will bring about something meaningful for the electorate. As to why, the reasons are varied.
When you ask Labor MPs why the government is so obstinate on what seems an easy win – more revenue and also a nod towards some sort of rebalance – they point to places like Queensland and Western Australia and how they like having caucus members from both states.
Which is a very captured way of thinking. The WA and Queensland governments are very mining friendly but that doesn’t mean all the people are – or indeed that they don’t want to see resource companies pay their fair share.
Polling in both states has surprised Labor figures, given the popularity of the idea in regions they considered it a vote killer. But when your circle of influence is narrow and focused in one direction – towards capital – it tends to dull all other voices. At least at first.
Labor is convinced it can increase its majority at the next election, and if there is an opportunity to go early, it will take it. Its eye is on the Liberal and National seats under threat from One Nation – not to the future and not to how the public is feeling. That is a big blind spot, and one that will come back to bite it.
The anger that has underpinned the swings against the major parties might ebb and flow depending on where the election cycle is at, but no one is doing anything to properly address it. That is becoming a pattern with this government and it’s leaking out now, in all sorts of ways.
The booing of Welcome to Countries at Anzac ceremonies was not in isolation. The Albanese government could not walk away fast enough after the Indigenous Voice referendum failed, and has all but abandoned public support of Indigenous people when it comes to material change and advancing what is needed for reconciliation.
Feeling emboldened to display such open racism is not new in this country but, given the lack of political pushback, it’s becoming par for the course.
We saw that in how long it took for the attempted terror attack at the Perth Invasion Day rally to be labelled as such. The condemnation came, but only following public outrage about how the case was initially treated. It’s playing out now when it comes to the dog whistling of Angus Taylor’s Coalition on migration.
Labor knows what is happening, but has chosen to largely not address it. Not because it doesn’t want to add fuel to the fire, but because it doesn’t want to risk alienating the very voters Taylor is hoping to attract. Social cohesion never counts for much when there could be votes in it.
All of it is part of the wider pattern of this government always doing the very least it can do – in all senses.
As commentator and author Tim Dunlop has identified, this is a government happy with incrementalism – which is why the slashing cuts to NDIS growth funding was such a shock. That fits the pattern though – this has been a government happy to respond to the complaints of industry and economic rationalists, but slow to respond to the complaints of the people.
It will not surprise you that the cuts to the NDIS, which punish people who need the service of grasping private profit makers, have been seen as “bravery” by many political commentators, who see it as common sense. This same framing is why not touching fossil fuel subsidies – which totalled $16.3 billion across state and federal governments in 2025-26 – is also seen as “common sense”.
The Fuel Tax Credit Scheme makes up a vast part of that figure, coming in at $10.8 billion in foregone revenue, most of that going to fossil fuel companies. BHP is the country’s biggest user of diesel fuel – so big, it has been able to help the government secure diesel shipments so it can continue operations unaffected by world events. The OECD has called for Australia to “reduce or eliminate” the scheme, but we know better apparently. Because it always pays to let the people pay. Until it doesn’t.
Being captured – or seen to be captured – by the gas industry is just another symptom of a government wilfully blind to the rumblings of an angry populace. It’s not just the Albanese government – in NSW, the Minns government has responded to the gas industry’s wishlist by not only reversing an exploration ban, but making it cheaper than the annual water bill for a household.
Because, while governments are very slow to respond to the issues that have exploited this moment, they are quick to jump to industry’s tune. That they haven’t worked out that both are related is an indicator on who they are listening to. Which is one of the reasons Pauline Hanson can climb film herself climbing into her own private plane, donated by Hancock executives, while claiming she is a “grassroots Australian” – and still be seen as being on the side of everyday Australians.
Australia’s major parties – including this government – have taught people that mining companies are on their side. So no one should be shocked that Gina Rinehart has found a direct way to influence the nation’s democracy – people have been primed for it. She’s just found an even easier shortcut.
Hanson isn’t an alternative to what the major parties are offering – she’s an extension of it. With Labor continuing to do the least possible to address anything of substance, Hanson is reaping the rewards, with the government seemingly intent on doing everything it can to speed up the process.
Amy Remeikis is a contributing editor for The New Daily and chief political analyst for The Australia Institute
This article was first published on The New Daily.
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Anthony Albanese ruling out a tax on gas companies, with a narrative adopted by the incurious that it is “not the right time” because of the “global sensitivities” is not good policy or even a smart one. It is, however, what he considers to be a safe one, helped along by a media narrative that presents keeping the status quo as the “sensible” choice.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission’s performance since its inception has been widely condemned. The leadership of Commissioner Paul Brereton, in particular, has drawn heavy criticism. Indeed, the NACC’s three current deputy commissioners as a group represent the least qualified combination of deputies permitted under the NACC Act.
