The Albanese government has denied it plans to implement a new gas tax despite a clause in Labor\u2019s draft National Platform endorsing the plan.<\/p>\n
Labor delegates from around the country will come together to hash out the platform at a three-day National Conference in Adelaide later this week.<\/p>\n
While Labor\u2019s federal caucus has the ultimate say on the policies that the Albanese government takes to an election, the National Platform lays out the party\u2019s values and long-term policy goals.<\/p>\n
And the draft version to be debated by delegates appears to endorse union demands for a cent gas export tax.<\/p>\n
\u201cLabor will ensure that the Australian people receive a fairer return from their natural resources including through appropriate taxation arrangements, while securing Australia\u2019s role as a reliable international energy supplier and investment partner,\u201d the clause states.<\/p>\n
But Labor\u2019s Matt Thistlethwaite denied the party was planning to introduce a gas tax, telling Sky News Australia\u2019s Pete Stefanovic that was \u201cnot the case\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a draft proposal. It hasn’t been adopted yet,\u201d the Assistant Immigration Minister said.<\/p>\n
Mr Thistlethwaite said the party had already made significant changes to the way natural resources were taxed, through changes to the petroleum resource rent tax and the introduction of a 20 per cent gas reservation policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re the only plans we have for reforming taxation of gas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic said the party had already gone further than they had before introducing changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sounds to me that that’s one step further than the prime minister saying that \u2018there will be no new tax\u2019, because it’s now in draft form,\u201d Senator Kovacic said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd let’s be clear: at this national conference, unions will make demands, and the unions will get what they want. And if they want a gas tax, they will get a gas tax, and it doesn’t matter what the prime minister says.\u201d<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s peak union body, the ACTU \u2013 which has significant sway inside the Australian Labor Party \u2013 has called for the introduction of a 25 per cent gas tax. \u00a0<\/p>\n
But Mr Thistlethwaite said it was the federal Labor caucus which determined the policies that were taken to parliament, adding they \u201cdon’t have any plans for changes to gas taxes\u201d.<\/p>\n
Deputy Liberal Leader Jane Hume also weighed in on Monday, pointing to previous times the government had backflipped on its election commitments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should never forget that the Labor Party is the political arm of the union movements. So if the unions want a higher gas tax, they’ll get a higher tax,” she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd even if the Prime Minister says, no, we’ll never have a gas tax, you can take me at my word.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, let’s face it, we took him at his word about negative gearing, about capital gains, about taxes on trusts, about taxes on superannuation, about $275 off your energy bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis word is worth nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Albanese government has denied it plans to implement a new gas tax despite a clause in Labor\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811460,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[386348,386385,386372,386367,386387,386360,384835,386397,386377,386363,386400,386351,386408,386378,386402,386381,386350,386373,386398,386380,386374,386353,3443,16169,386346,386365,386370,386407,64,63,9461,79553,386366,386368,131800,386376,114783,386409,386359,11053,386344,292936,528,386342,386343,1788,386355,386388,386395,386394,386404,13052,386392,386379,386390,19225,104778,386371,10928,386382,44,386384,386393,9801,20246,386406,74732,386358,386361,62639,386364,5792,39934,8193,386386,378344,386396,386362,386345,376840,386357,313300,386356,386354,23023,386383,382251,386405,386375,378652,378279,386391,379007,386389,386352,270070,127376,386399,386347,378879,214758,386369,386349,25231,386401,48154,386403],"class_list":["post-811459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-s-draft-national-platform","tag-s-federal-caucus","tag-s-matt-thistlethwaite","tag-s-peak-union-body","tag-s-pete-stefanovic","tag-s-role","tag-s-values","tag-a-fairer-share","tag-a-20","tag-a-25","tag-a-cent-gas-export-tax","tag-a-clause","tag-a-draft-proposal","tag-a-draft-version","tag-a-fairer-return","tag-a-gas-tax","tag-a-higher-gas-tax","tag-a-higher-tax","tag-a-new-gas-tax","tag-a-reliable-international-energy-supplier-and-investment-partner","tag-a-three-day-national-conference","tag-about-275","tag-adelaide","tag-albanese-government","tag-an-election","tag-any-plans","tag-appropriate-taxation-arrangements","tag-assistant-minister-matt-thistlethwaite","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australians","tag-capital-gains","tag-cent-gas-reservation-policy","tag-cent-gas-tax","tag-clause","tag-delegates","tag-demands","tag-draft-form","tag-draft-national-platform","tag-gas","tag-gas-tax-plans","tag-gas-taxes","tag-getty-images","tag-his-word","tag-its-election-commitments","tag-labor","tag-labor-delegates","tag-later-this-week","tag-liberal-senator-maria-kovacic","tag-long-term-policy-goals","tag-major-new-tax-plans","tag-monday","tag-mr-thistlethwaite","tag-my-word","tag-national-platform","tag-natural-gas","tag-natural-resources","tag-nca-newswire-nikki-short","tag-negative-gearing","tag-negative-gearing-and-capital-gains-tax","tag-news","tag-no-new-tax","tag-one-step","tag-parliament","tag-picture","tag-previous-times","tag-prime-minister-anthony-albanese","tag-senator-kovacic","tag-significant-changes","tag-sky-news-australia","tag-snapp-politics-generic-deputy-liberal-leader-jane-hume","tag-superannuation","tag-taxation","tag-taxes","tag-the-actu","tag-the-albanese-government","tag-the-assistant-immigration-minister","tag-the-australian-labor-party","tag-the-australian-people","tag-the-case","tag-the-clause","tag-the-country","tag-the-draft-version","tag-the-federal-labor-caucus","tag-the-government","tag-the-introduction","tag-the-labor-party","tag-the-national-platform","tag-the-only-plans","tag-the-party","tag-the-petroleum-resource-rent-tax","tag-the-plan","tag-the-platform","tag-the-policies","tag-the-political-arm","tag-the-prime-minister","tag-the-proposal","tag-the-ultimate","tag-the-union-movements","tag-the-unions","tag-the-way","tag-their-natural-resources","tag-this-national-conference","tag-trusts","tag-union-demands","tag-unions","tag-your-energy-bills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}