Gaslit politics | Between the Lines
The Wrap with Louise Morris
There’s a shift happening in Australian politics right now.
And it runs straight through the gas industry.
For years, the idea of properly taxing gas exports has been treated as politically untenable – something governments approached dismissively, if at all. But as global conflict pushes up energy prices and gas company profits surge, that dismissiveness is starting to look like negligence.
Image: AAP/Rebecca Le May
— Louise Morris is an Advocate at The Australia Institute.
The Big Stories
The PM requests modelling on a potential new gas tax
In breaking news on Friday 20 March, the prime minister’s department has asked for modelling on a potential new gas tax.
New Australia Institute research shows that, if a 25% gas export tax was introduced in 2022, it would have raised more than $63 billion by now.
“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,” said Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of The Australia Institute.
Free childcare. Free university. The simple, sensible policy which would have raised $63.8 billion in under four years.
Extraordinary new analysis by The Australia Institute reveals that if the Albanese government had introduced a 25% gas export tax after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it would have raised more than 63 billion dollars.
Gun law fail: Dodgy licences lead to firearms flood
According to new analysis released by The Australia Institute. hundreds of thousands of gun owners have no genuine reason to have a firearm
To get a gun licence in Australia, applicants must provide a “genuine reason” to own a gun, such as working on farms or as a security guard. Hundreds of thousands of gun licences have been issued for licensees to participate in recreational hunting and sports shooting. However, official data on sports participation shows that the number of people that actually participate in these activities is far lower.
This means that large numbers of gun owners do not use their guns for reason they claim they need them, raising questions about community safety and the effectiveness of Australia’s gun laws.
Australia hands fossil fuel companies $31,000 a minute in subsidies — more than it spends on the Air Force
New Australia Institute research has revealed that Australian governments are providing the equivalent of $31,020 a minute in fossil fuel subsidies as households continue to struggle with rising petrol and electricity prices.
The Australia Institute analysis shows that state and federal governments will provide $16.3 billion in subsidies in 2025/26 to some of the biggest, most profitable companies in Australia, an increase of 9.4 per cent on last financial year.
“It makes no sense to be subsidising profitable multinational mining companies while short-changing Australia’s age pensioners and those living with disabilities,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute.
New Analysis: Mid-East war’s hit to Australian economy, how to reduce its impact
New analysis by The Australia Institute reveals the impact the war in the Middle East is likely to have on Australian households – and recommends policies to limit the hardship.
It finds domestic diesel, petrol, gas and electricity prices will all rise, which will push up the prices of a broad range of products and services almost immediately.
“Like all wars, what’s unfolding in the Middle East is a humanitarian disaster,” said Dr Richard Dennis, co-CEO of The Australia Institute.
“It is also an economic disaster, which will impact Australian households.”
Exclusive Farrer poll: One Nation ahead but faces preference challenge; huge support for gas tax
Polling conducted for The Australia Institute reveals One Nation narrowly leads Independent Michelle Milthorpe in Farrer on primary votes, but that may not be enough to secure the once-safe Liberal seat.
The poll, of more than 1000 Farrer voters, also reveals huge support for a 25% tax on gas exports, particularly among One Nation supporters.
“The Farrer by-election is shaping up as not just a big test for the Liberals, but for One Nation and the regional Independent movement as well,” said Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of The Australia Institute.
Ed Husic calls out gas industry’s “glut of greed”
A sharp rebuke of Australia’s gas industry was delivered in Parliament last week, as Labor MP for Chifley, Ed Husic, accused major exporters of putting profits ahead of the public interest and called for a stronger national approach to managing the country’s gas resources.
South Australia vote looms as research shows majority back abortion rights
As South Australia prepares to vote amid escalating anti-abortion rhetoric, new polling research from The Australia Institute shows that a clear majority of Australians support a woman’s right to choose.
The polling found 62 per cent of Australians support access to abortion services, with a further 25 per cent supporting access in limited circumstances. Just 8 per cent of respondents said they oppose abortion access entirely, while 5 per cent remain undecided.
“Abortion is legal across Australia and this research shows a majority of Australians support access to abortion, whether they live in cities or country towns, or where they sit on the political spectrum,” said Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director of The Australia Institute.
The Win
The PM requests modelling on a potential new gas tax
As a big step forward for Australia, the PM has asked for modelling on a potential new gas tax.
Australia Institute analysis shows that replacing the broken Petroleum Resource Rent Tax with a flat 25% tax on gas exports could raise more than $17 billion a year.
The Bin
Raising rates while petrol prices soar shows the RBA ignoring reality and basic economics
“The Reserve Bank has completely misread the economy and risked sending more Australians into poverty on Jobseeker by raising the cash rate to 4.1%,” writes Greg Jericho, The Australia Institute’s Chief Economist, in The Point.
The Quote
“Australia doesn’t have a shortage of houses, a shortage of gas, or a shortage of bullshit about housing and gas supply.”
– Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of The Australia Institute
Podcasts
Australia’s fossil fuel subsidies are out of control | Follow the Money
Rod Campbell and Ebony Bennett discuss why it’s time to call out the idea that governments can’t afford to support Australians in need yet still dish out $16.3 billion on fossil fuel subsidies in 2025-26 alone.
Listen now:
“No plan” and no end in sight for Trump’s “little excursion” in Iran | After America
Dr Emma Shortis discusses the Trump administration’s apparent failure to plan for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Pete Hegseth’s attacks on American media, and the Australian government’s response to the US and Israel’s war on Iran.
Listen now:
Double pain for Australians as interest rate and oil price hikes bite | Dollars & Sense
Australians are already paying a price for the illegal US-Israel war on Iran, so why did the Reserve Bank double down and raise rates again?
Listen now:
What’s On
It’s time for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty with Kumi Naidoo
Tuesday 24 March | 6pm | Online
Join Kumi Naidoo in conversation with Dr Richard Denniss as they discuss Kumi’s new essay, What We Owe the Water: It’s Time for a Fossil Fuel Treaty.
Drawing on decades of activism — from anti-apartheid struggles in South Africa to standing alongside climate defenders across the Pacific — Naidoo explores the injustices that define this crisis. With stories from Australian flood survivors, Indigenous leaders protecting sacred lands, and Pacific Islanders fighting for the survival of their homes, Naidoo describes a grim reality: the water that once sustained us is now loudly sounding the alarm.
National Film and Sound Archive Screening – Love Letter to the Unseen
Wednesday 25 March | 6pm | Arc Cinema, NFSA
In Love Letter to the Unseen, follow youth conservationist Spencer Hitchen on his journey to understand the imminent threats to the endangered Maugean Skate and the intrinsic beauty of a species that exists both in the real world and in the imaginations of its supporters. Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, the sole remaining home of the Maugean skate, is at risk, but there’s still time to act.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Josh “Bones” Murphy, Love Letter to the Unseen was made in partnership with Environment Tasmania, Holdfast Collective, Rauch Foundation, and Reichstein Foundation.
Love Letter to the Unseen also features Eloise Carr, Director of The Australia Institute’s Tasmanian branch.
A Q&A panel discussion will follow the film screening, featuring Palawa man Lyndon O’Neil, artist Wendy Edwards, First Dog on the Moon, Andrew Wilkie MP, and more.
Gold Standard? with Frank Bongiorno, Carolyn Holbrook & Joshua Black
Friday 24 April | 11am | Online
Join historians Frank Bongiorno, Carolyn Holbrook, and Joshua Black as they discuss their new book, Gold Standard?: Remembering the Hawke government.
Was the Hawke government ‘the gold standard’ for federal government in Australia? A stellar line-up of historians, social scientists, politicians and journalists shed valuable new light on the policies, politics and personalities of the Hawke government and ask: What lessons can it offer in the art of reformist government? How do its legacies continue to shape Australian society?
Politics in the Pub: Budget Wrap 2026
Wednesday 13 May | 6:30pm | Verity Lane Market & Online
Join Greg Jericho and Matt Grudnoff in conversation with Ebony Bennett for their analysis of the 2026-2027 Federal Budget. Who wins? Who loses out? What’s hiding in the budget papers, and what do you need to know?
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