Trish Cook (Bullwinkel, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to this matter of public importance today. When we talk about the sale of our natural resources, we're talking about the birthright of every Australian to profit from our resources. Our government understands this, of course, but we need to get the balance right. We need to ensure that Australians receive a fair share of our nation's wealth while simultaneously shielding household budgets from global instability and keeping prices affordable, and also providing investment stability and certainty in the industry.

Before I entered this place, I spent many decades working as an occupational health and safety nurse and consultant, and my career took me to the front lines of this industry, working in the oil and gas rigs in the Burrup, off Karratha, and offshore in Western Australia. I've seen firsthand the massive scale of investment that's required in these operations, and the lead-time to these operations is extraordinary.

The product, of course, has to have a buyer, long before the product is removed from the ground, and, in this respect, prices are set, to some degree, between the buyer and the seller. These are not government projects that we're investing in; they are external investments. And they bring great value to our communities and to our economy.

The dedication of the oil and gas workers is second to none. And this industry does provide huge employment to the workers.

So I know these projects are vital. They provide vital resources to the communities and they provide a vital injection into our economy. And these companies do pay a variety of taxes: they pay company tax and also the PRRT.

In WA, in particular, in the energy sector, we have been very sensible by making sure that we dedicate 15 per cent of our supply—that must go to domestic supply in WA. Of course, we want to keep those prices at a reasonable, affordable level. But we have become a reliable international energy supplier, and we need to continue this to promote further investment. So our government's approach is balanced: we want to maintain industry certainty, but also to get a fair price on what are, essentially, Australia's resources.

In the Albanese Labor government's first term, there were changes made to the petroleum resource rent tax, and what this did is ensure that we could get the balance right. Prior to these changes in 2023, companies could reduce their taxable income to zero and essentially not pay anything, but the changes we made now see the deduction cap set at 90 per cent. This ensures that we will get income from the PRRT, but it also doesn't provide industry a shock to the system and it allows for continuing investment and stability.

We're also concerned about fuel security, and obviously this crisis has brought that to the fore. I'd just like to mention a few things that we're doing in regard to fuel security and the crisis in the Middle East that has caused this global shock. Security includes a balance and fairness. National Cabinet has agreed to a national fuel security plan, which is a live, coordinated response across the Commonwealth, states and territories. Our approach is guided by the four-point strategy: (1) plan and prepare; (2) keep Australia moving, which is what we're currently focused on; (3) take targeted action; and (4) protect critical services. We will continue on that plan to keep Australia moving.

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