Thousands of people demanded an inquiry into the fossil fuel subsidies costing Australia billions and cooking our climate. Now our voices have been heard. Not once, but twice.
Yesterday, Labor announced it would hold a parliamentary inquiry into outrageous tax breaks for oil and gas giants. And this morning, we heard that the Government is following suit with their own review. It’s a move in the right direction, and it shows they’re feeling the pressure.
Gaining momentum in the media
For too long, reckless multinational fossil fuel companies have been allowed to line their pockets, while the rest of us pay a hefty price – financially and environmentally. Just this week, a damning investigation has exposed how fossil fuel giants are rorting the tax system to avoid billions of dollars of tax payments.
And if that wasn’t enough, those revelations came hot on the heels of news that Australia is letting multinationals grab its offshore oil and gas virtually for free. Compared to competitor oil and gas exporters like Qatar, Nigeria and Indonesia, we’re bottom of the pile when it comes to charging multinationals who exploit our environment. Whichever way you slice it, this dodgy deal doesn’t stack up.
Our friends at the Tax Justice Network handing signatures to Chris Bowen MP
Fossil fuels on the ropes
Across the globe, fossil fuel barons are holding back humanity. Their greed is poisoning our air, our water and our democracy, and it’s threatening our habitat through climate chaos.
At the same time, the fossil fuel industry is wounded; reeling from volatile prices and ever-cheaper renewables. Without the crutch of those huge tax breaks from their political mates, they’re in trouble. And amidst the death throes of this dirty industry, a chance for a cleaner, greener future is emerging. It’s up to our movement to seize it.
That’s why it’s such good news that we now have an opportunity to expose the gaping holes in our primary tax on oil and gas (the ‘PRRT’), and with it, the weaknesses these climate-wrecking corporations are currently exploiting.
Here in Australia, we know that a cleaner, more just future is there for the taking. We have huge potential to generate clean, green energy, but right now our pollies are propping up the dirty polluters and it’ll be up to us to clean up their mess.
Together though, we are more powerful than any corporation or government. And around the world communities are fighting back, so that the next generation has a place to call home.
Let’s keep pushing for a cleaner future, free of fossil fuels.
