The analysis shows that Liquified Natural Gas export prices more than doubled after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. If the then newly elected government had acted swiftly and decisively, imposing a gas export tax commencing on July 1, 2022, it would have raised $63.8 billion by now.

If gas prices stay at current levels, a 25% gas export tax would be enough to fully offset the cost of providing free university and TAFE for Australian students or free childcare for Australian families.

“While Australia obviously can’t go back in time and implement an efficient gas export tax, these figures show how incredibly expensive delaying the introduction of a gas export tax is. Australia only gets one chance to get a fair price for each ship full of our gas exports and we have missed too many of those chances in the last decade,” said Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of The Australia Institute.

“Surging fuel prices are already delivering windfall profits for the multi-national companies which extract and sell Australia’s natural resources. These largely foreign owned companies are making a fortune from the war in the Middle East while the Australians who actually own the gas are paying through the nose at the petrol bowser.

“Unlike the citizens of other resource-rich nations, Australians don’t benefit when prices rise. In fact, we feel poor, because Australian households pay international prices for Australian gas.

“This is not bad luck. It’s bad policy. But luckily it’s easy to fix. The ACTU has proposed a 25% tax on gas exports. It has the support of industry groups, a wide range of MPs, industry experts and, according to polling, the vast majority of ordinary Australians.

“$63.8 billion is an enormous amount of money to have given away. A gas export tax could really have helped Australians struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, rising interest rates and skyrocketing petrol prices.

“Free childcare or free uni should not be a pipe dream for a rich country like Australia. If the Australian government made gas export companies pay their fair share for Australia’s resources, Australians would – and should – be better off.”