Fatima Payman (WA, Australia's Voice) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of Senator McKim's motion regarding a 25 per cent tax on the gas companies who are making eye-watering profits in the wake of the illegal war in the Middle East. Despite the billions of dollars in profits from our resources, they're not paying Australians our fair share. In fact, many now know gas companies pay less tax on gas than Australians do on beer. That tells you everything about how broken our system is. As soon as sensible reform is proposed, these companies move quickly to protect their profits because they serve shareholders, not the Australian public. In my home state of WA, fuel prices are soaring, and families are paying up to $2.80 a litre.

If a 25 per cent gas export tax had been introduced in 2022, Australia could have raised $63.8 billion. That's enough money to make early childhood education free and remove the HECS debt on students. Other countries like Norway tax their resources properly and invest in their people. Here, we subsidise fossil fuel giants and send students the bill. That's cooked policy! We must shift the burden from everyday Australians to those profiting from our resources and demand that they invest in our country.