Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised no new taxes on Australia’s gas exports in next month’s federal budget, saying the government “will not undermine existing contracts”. Questioned further, he said future gas tax changes aren’t being contemplated either.

That hasn’t stopped the growing calls for higher taxes on gas exporters, with an unusual coalition of the Greens, One Nation, independent Senator David Pocock and others arguing the industry has been paying far too little for too long.

Responding to those criticisms, the oil and gas industry has pointed out it is among Australia’s highest corporate taxpayers.

That’s true: the Australian Tax Office reported late last year that oil and gas companies paid A$10.4 billion in company tax in 2023–24, or 10.9% of the total corporate tax levied in that year.

But it’s also true that Australia doesn’t get as much back for gas extracted offshore and sold overseas as you might think – especially when gas prices are high.

If the federal government is willing to rethink gas taxes in future, Queensland’s Liberal National government has already shown there’s another way to get a better return for natural resources.

How Queensland got more for less gas

The Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) is a federal tax first set up in 1988, used to make companies pay to extract a finite natural resource owned by the Australian people.

Since then, gas has grown to become Australia’s third biggest export earner,........

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