Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, says Senator Faruqi—sprung! That matters because gas is not another industry; it underpins manufacturing, jobs, exports, household energy reliability and the energy security of key partners including Japan and Korea. Japan's warning should be taken seriously. Australia's LNG reputation has been built over decades. Surprise retrospective taxes would send exactly the wrong message to our closest trading partners. Regional communities know what the activists ignore. In places like Onslow, in my home state of Western Australia, the gas sector delivered jobs, infrastructure, local business opportunities and long-term community investment.

The coalition's recommendation is simple and responsible: there should be no arbitrary windfall levy on gas exports. Australia needs an increased tax take, not an increased tax rate. That means encouraging investment, approving projects faster, reducing duplication, and backing the sector that helps pay for the services Australians rely on. The Greens and Senator Pocock have a different ambition. Their ambition is not tax reform; their ambition is to punish the industry. The coalition wants the industry to keep investing, keep employing, keep exporting and keep paying tax in Australia.

If I might just go back to where I started, there is in this country and in my own home state of Western Australia genuine sentiment that people want to see more of the value return to their local communities. That is a national interest. The question will soon become: what is the best way to do that that does not imperil future investment, that does not imperil our trading relationships, that does not imperil the future investment in local community?