David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) | Hansard source

Gas companies are making off like robber barons right now, and Labor and One Nation are helping them get away with it. The hundreds of billions of dollars of publicly owned gas exported from Australia delivers next to nothing to Australians in return. Multinational gas corporations are pumping gas out of Australia, selling it around the world while giving nothing back to the public. It's a rort. It is no wonder it is being called the 'great Australian gas rip off'. The public can see these multinationals raking in super profits from our gas, while Donald Trump's war in the Middle East is driving up energy prices. They know they're paying more. They know they'll keep paying more, so it's even more obscene that Labor in this year's budget gave the gas lobby another free ride and refused to put in a 25 per cent export gas tax. That was a $17 billion gift to Santos and Woodside, a great return for their multimillion-dollar donations to Labor, One Nation and the coalition.

When the majority of Australians want at least a 25 per cent tax on gas exports, why is the Albanese government refusing to tax them? When people every day are spending more on housing, on energy, on food, on just living, why are Labor and One Nation running cover for the gas corporations? I was struggling to think of a reason and then I remembered the million dollars Labor received from the fossil fuel industry in the run up to the last election. And I remembered that every retired federal resource minister in the past two decades has left parliament and walked into a high-paying job in the resources industry. So when I see these swanky fundraisers from Labor, when I see the chummy pictures of Albanese and fossil fuel CEOs, when I see retired Labor ministers gaining special access and when I see the protection racket that Labor runs for the industry, I see a betrayal of the public. The Greens see that. Parliament is meant to be for the public. The gas industry has paid to own Labor and One Nation, but has not bought the public, not paid the people, and, until it does, shut the door. (Time expired)