The “Gish gallop” debating technique involves making so many false or misleading claims in quick succession to sneak away without proper challenge.

We sat through a classic of the genre when the head of one of Australia’s biggest oil and gas companies, Santos, turned up at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday to claim his business was here to solve the country’s energy security needs.

Kevin Gallagher’s speech was billed as “Australia’s energy opportunity in an uncertain world”, but a more accurate title would be: “Help my polluting gas company cash in on this crisis”.

In Gallagher’s telling, the Iran war and the disruptions caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz are just another reason to let his company do more drilling. How convenient.

Gallagher quoted from the International Energy Agency, but forgot the little bit where it said continued expansion of renewables “has played a key role in diversifying electricity supplies, thereby supporting energy security and helping limit the impacts of the shock”.

According to the IEA’s Electricity Mid-Year Update 2026, wholesale electricity prices in Australia were about 45 per cent lower in the second quarter of 2026 “as strong generation from renewables and rapidly expanding battery storage capacity helped reduce reliance on gas-fired plants during peak electricity demand periods”.

Gas is expensive. Use it more, and the price goes up.

Gallagher conceded “we can electrify many things” but played down the pace of the renewables rollout by repeatedly referring to such sources as a share of “primary energy demand”.

The founder of the BloombergNEF think tank, Michael Liebreich, visited Australia a few months ago and pointed out fossil fuels are........

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