Leader of The Nationals Matt Canavan said today’s anti-jobs protest led by Canberra Senator David Pocock in Gladstone was yet another example of the Teal/Independents’ disdain for regional Australia.
“My message today is simple – regional Australians won’t stand for outsiders shutting down their livelihoods,” Senator Canavan said.
“David Pocock’s gas protest is nothing but a bad sequel to Bob Brown’s anti-jobs convoy to Central Queensland in 2019.
“He can dress it up however he likes, but the local community knows what this is – an activist from Canberra lecturing them with an out of touch net zero anti jobs agenda.
“Make no mistake, Senator Pocock’s Canberra gas tax grab will mean a weaker Australia, more dependent on energy from other countries, higher energy prices and less well-paying jobs for regional communities.
“During an energy crisis, our priority has to be increasing the productivity of the Australian economy and supporting crucial industries such as gas.
“Today’s protest doesn’t understand that here in Queensland, gas is produced onshore, so it’s not the Commonwealth’s gas. A royalty already applies to Queensland gas, raising around $1.67 billion dollars a year for the Queensland people. It’s Queensland’s resource, not the Commonwealth’s.”
Shadow Minister for Resources Susan McDonald said Senator Pocock was ill-informed and it showed that those involved from Canberra didn’t understand the industry.
“As well as delivering reliable and affordable natural gas for homes, businesses and industry, Queensland’s gas sector has contributed $127 billion to the state economy and supported around 60,000 jobs over the past decade,” Senator McDonald said.
“I’ve been trying to explain to Senator Pocock that the gas industry shouldn’t be shut down or arbitrarily taxed because of climate activists. Under the Albanese Government’s anti-coal, oil and gas agenda and policies – like the Safeguard Mechanism tax, changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, and funding of the Environmental Defender’s Office – Australia’s share of global gas investment has fallen from 40 per cent to 15 per cent. Any increase in tax on gas would destroy Australia’s energy supply and play into the anti-fossil fuel activists’ agenda.
“Queenslanders want to be heard and represented in Canberra by actual Queenslanders who value the local economy, and know how to create the environment that provides them with jobs so they can pay their mortgages and feed their families.”
Member for Flynn Colin Boyce said Gladstone’s industry created jobs and prosperity and the region didn’t need a lecture from an interstate politician.
“If Senator Pocock wants another tax, he is asking for a tax on tax, so Senator Pocock also needs to explain, how does any business withstand another 25 per cent tax on their revenues?” Mr Boyce said.
“Our gas industry delivers $345 million in wages each year, supporting 3,231 jobs. But Senator Pocock wants to kill the Australian gas industry. If you take gas production to zero, the tax revenue we get is also zero – not to mention thousands of job losses.”
Opal Holdings general manager Kyle Beale said the oil and gas industry is a major driver of Australia’s economic growth.
“Mr Pocock, with all due respect, you are a footy star turned Politician, from Bingo votes in the southern states,” Mr Beale said.
“Please do the miles in business and fix other states’ financial dilemmas as a practice run. After you fix that, you are then welcome to come back up to Queensland and give me a lesson on how we should run our business models.”
Brolga Cranes director Paul Olsen said the oil and gas industry is the second biggest corporate taxpaying sector in Australia, and one in every 10 dollars of company tax paid in Australia comes from oil and gas companies.
“Now is the time to invest more in gas, not less, to ensure we keep power prices low during our energy crisis,” Mr Olsen said.
