Australia Institute analysis of the 2024 WA Budget shows the meagre contribution of gas royalties to state government revenue will plumet to just 0.6% over the next 4 years.

The Labor Government and Australian Greens working together to remove a deeply flawed schedule from the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Safety and Other Measures) Bill represents a small victory for the community, however the need to fix the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) collect more revenue remains.

The 2024-25 Federal Budget is a missed opportunity for the Government to solve the key underlying structural problems causing growing inequality, focusing instead on small announceables.  

New research from the Australia Institute has found that state and federal governments provided $14.5 billion in subsidies to fossil fuel producers and major consumers in 2023-24 – the equivalent of $27,581 for every minute of every day, or $540 for every person in Australia.

The Australia Institute has released new research on Australia’s largest fossil fuel subsidy, the Fuel Tax Credits Scheme (FTCS).

Simple reforms to the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax could raise $18 billion over the next four years, new Australia Institute research has found. The report, A Stronger PRRT Cap, demonstrates that straightforward reforms would raise more revenue than the government’s proposed 90% cap on the expenses oil and gas companies can deduct from their PRRT

37 local council leaders from across the country – including Lord Mayor Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney - have signed an open letter calling on the federal government to increase the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) to help fund local communities addressing the impacts of climate change.

The Federal Government’s Future Gas Strategy locks in fossil fuel expansion until 2050 and ignores the fact that the vast majority of Australia’s gas is used for exports, according to analysis from the Australia Institute.

The Australian Government has approved key infrastructure for Chevron’s Gorgon LNG Stage 2 expansion that will produce 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions over the next 50 years.

New Australia Institute research released today shows that royalty payments by the gas industry are negligible and expected to contribute just 1.3% to this week’s WA budget.

The Australia Institute has placed a prominent billboard reading “90% of WA’s gas is exported, mostly royalty free” in view of WA’s Parliament, Woodside’s offices and tens of thousands of motorists daily.

New research shows that the country’s energy security can be supported with minimal intervention and investment, simply by changing the time of day that electricity is used and harnessing the power of buildings as thermal batteries.

The Australia Institute has placed a full-page advertisement in The West Australian revealing stark findings about the gas industry in Western Australia.

More than 100 environment groups have signed an open letter calling for strong environmental law reforms as the Federal Government backs out of its already overdue ‘Nature Positive Plan’ to reform the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. The open letter, coordinated by the Australia Institute, will appear in the Sydney Morning Herald, The

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s Department has approved a major part of Santos’ controversial Barossa gas export project, the Darwin Pipeline Duplication Project.

His Excellency Anote Tong, former President of Kiribati, arrives in Australia on Saturday March 9 for a national speaking tour.

The Australia Institute is proud to announce Dr Joelle Gergis as its Writer in Residence for 2024.

Legislation that will allow the government to relax the approval and assessment process for offshore oil and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects is premature and risks bypassing traditional owners, local groups and tourism and fishing businesses, warns the Australia Institute.

State based electric vehicle taxes have been struck down by the High Court of Australia, paving the way for the Federal Government to act on increasing the uptake and availability of EVs across the country, the Australia Institute has said. Key points: State based EV taxes, dubbed the ‘worst electric vehicle policy in the world’

The Australian Government has again taken a bandaid approach to climate action, announcing a climate adaptation partnership with Tuvalu at the United Nations Climate Ambition Summit in New York while remaining steadfastly committed to fossil fuels.

A significant majority of Australians (at least 75%) are concerned about the impact of the climate crisis on food supply, agriculture and insurance premiums, and support policies that would force fossil fuel companies to pay for the damage they are causing, according to the Australia Institute’s 2023 Climate of the Nation report.