Gas prices are rising despite protests
Santos has been salivating at the prospect of selling gas for two to three times the domestic price for years. But as the big pay day draws near, the company has started blaming protesters, who oppose the harm that gas exploration does to farms and forests, for the impending price rises; the same price rises that Santos’s shareholders have been banking on.
The idea that the gas industry has consumer interests at heart and that protesters are to blame for rising gas prices is as audacious as it is ridiculous. If the gas industry wanted to help consumers it would continue to sell gas to Australian customers for the current price.
Related documents
Between the Lines Newsletter
The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.
You might also like
6 gas facts to help you cut through fossil fuel spin
There’s a lot of misinformation in the debate surrounding Australia’s gas industry. To be clear: the world cannot afford for new gas projects (or any other fossil fuel projects) to be opened if we want to avoid dangerous climate change.
Compared to the cost of protesting, buying time with a minister is very cheap
In Australia today, corporate lobbyists can cheaply access politicians in private while peaceful public protestors face draconian penalties.
Australians overwhelmingly support the right to peaceful protest
After a weekend which saw 170 people arrested for briefly delaying ships at the world’s biggest coal port, new polling research by The Australia Institute reveals the vast majority (79%) of Australians support the right to protest.