Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I give the call to the member for Brisbane.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They're easily confused, Mr Speaker. They lost my seat—just so you know.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Brisbane will get on with his question.

Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. This morning on ABC Radio, you left the door open to how to get your gas tax changes through the Senate. It seems the government now has two choices: finally stand up to the fossil fuel industry and work with the Greens and the crossbench to dramatically increase tax revenue from gas companies or make a deal with the Liberals to weaken environmental approvals for gas projects in exchange for their support. Which option will you take?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Brisbane for his question. I say to him—I know this will come as no surprise to him, I would have thought—the government's position is in what we've put forward through the Senate. That's the government's position. The Greens have a position: do they want to oppose that and, therefore, have less revenue earlier from the gas industry? That's a question that they have to answer. The Liberal Party, of course, have a question before them as well. Do they support a fairer outcome, which is there in the legislation that has been put forward and that has been considered by the government on the basis of proper advice and proper consultation, as well?

It's strange to get a question about what the parties other than Labor should do, which is essentially what the question comes to. But what we are doing is fair, is right and will produce extra revenue for the government earlier, which is why we came up with that position. The Greens have the opportunity to talk to their Senate colleagues. Don't do what you've done up to now with the Housing Australia Future Fund and say: 'We want more. Therefore, we'll have nothing.' Don't do the same thing and say: 'We want more revenue. Therefore, we won't have any revenue from the gas sector.' That's up to you—to determine your own position.

But our position is very clear in what we've put forward. We'll continue to support that. It's up to those opposite as to whether we see the 'no-alition' continuing between the coalition, the Greens political party and, of course, One Nation—the same 'no-alition' that have combined in the Senate to, up to this point, oppose the Housing Australia Future Fund. I urge you to not do that. I urge you to stand up for more revenue so that, therefore, there can be better spending earlier on what Australia needs, such as health, education, housing and other issues.