In the lead-up to the last election, I called for a gas reservation policy, and at the time I asked the question about how it was that we were selling gas to China cheaper than to Australians. It's just wrong when so many households and businesses are crying out for cheaper gas, when prices are so high and when the cost-of-living crisis is having such impacts across the Central West and the rest of Australia. Australians shouldn't be forced to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families. That's the bottom line here.

After I announced that policy of a gas reservation, the coalition suddenly announced that their energy policy was—you guessed it—a gas reservation policy, and the government have now come out and announced that they also back a gas reservation policy. So I'm glad that the Liberal, National and Labor parties have seen the light. That's a positive. I have to say this follows other initiatives and bills that major parties have previously not supported or have voted against and then have come to call their own. I'm talking here about my bill to ban the foreign buying of residential property. That was announced by me. I put a bill into parliament. Then the coalition, in opposition, adopted it, and then the government adopted it as well. Then we had my bill to protect prime agricultural land, which has basically now been plagiarised by the National Party after they voted against it. You had my bill to keep cash king in Australia. Again, the National Party failed to support that, and then yesterday they announced a new policy. It's called 'keeping cash king in Australia'. So there are very serious concerns about the originality of some of the policy development that goes on in the major parties. But I'm pleased that the government has seen the light on a gas reservation policy, and I'm pleased that the coalition has seen the light on this as well. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well, that's politics.

The Domestic Gas Reservation Bill 2026 is not perfect. As speakers who have come before me on this have pointed out, there are still unanswered issues and questions surrounding it, and they do need to be addressed. However, it's better than what we've got at the moment, so, on that basis, I will be supporting it. However, there is a glaring failure from the major parties that continues to this day, and that is the unwillingness to support and impose a 25 per cent tax on gas exports. If we had had such a tax since 2022, this would equate to $79 billion in revenue, but we've lost it. We've lost $80 billion in revenue by not having this tax.

How many Great Western Highways could we have fixed and built with $79 billion to $80 billion? I mean, at the moment the state and federal governments expect us to be happy with the crumbs and scraps from the table—$200 million to fix the convict bridge that was built in 1832. It defies belief that so many billions could be spent in the major cities, with billions and billions spent on gold-plated highway and tunnel projects in Sydney and Newcastle—I could list them. They're spending hundreds of millions of dollars investigating high-speed rail between Sydney and Newcastle. That project would be from $60 billion to $90 billion, but they expect us to be happy with $200 million for the Great Western Highway.

If you had a 25 per cent gas export tax, you would be able to build a new Great Western Highway, tunnels and high-speed access over the mountains. We could build schools and hospitals. We could fund so many things. How many business support packages could we have put out there for our struggling businesses being smashed to pieces by the highway closure? The failure to impose a 25 per cent gas export tax is costing us $17 billion a year, $2 million an hour and $577 a second. Why haven't we imposed such a tax so far? Why are Australians not getting a fair return on the resources that we all own? I think the answer is very simple: follow the money. It's these big gas companies that are the major donors to the major political parties.

Look, they just buy influence, and that's the cold, hard truth of it. That's why the major parties don't want to go near a 25 per cent gas export tax, because they've basically been in league with these gas companies. This is not an issue of left versus right; this is an issue of national interest versus vested interests. It's the vested interests of the big gas companies that are winning out at the moment, and we are forgoing revenue because of it. We've got overseas countries making more out of our gas than we are, and it is an outrage.

I would urge the government and I would urge all parties to come to their senses on this and do the right thing by Australians. Don't be beholden to the lobbyists; don't be beholden to the big corporations and the money people. Do what is right for Australians, and get a fair return from the finite resources that we all own, which are being sold far too cheaply at the moment. Let's fix the Great Western Highways, let's build the schools, let's fund the hospitals, and let's fund better mental healthcare. Let's fund all of those things that can help to build this nation. I would urge the major parties to get behind this 25 per cent gas export tax and do it on the double because every hour you delay it's $2 million in lost revenue, every year it's $17 billion.

There are too many priorities that need to be addressed in our country communities and across our nation to forgo this revenue. So I would urge the major parties to have a good look at their obstruction on this issue and come to their senses and support a 25 per cent gas export tax.