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Think tanks have revealed that Western Australian (WA) residents have paid twice as much car registration fees as the royalties of all gas export projects totaled in 2020-21.
A Report “Gas-fired robbery” by Australian Institute think tanks has effectively earned two-thirds of gas export projects, even though it has earned billions of dollars in international companies such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and Woodside. Outlined that he did not pay any taxes or royalties to.
“The average person paying a car registration fee contributes more to Western Australia’s budget than royalties from oil and gas companies. There is no doubt that Western Australia has been robbed.” Said Mark Ogge, Chief Advisor to the Australian Institute’s Climate and Energy Program.
About 90% of the gas produced in Washington is exported, with more than half of the gas remaining in the states used in the mining industry. Of the $ 27 billion worth of exports last year, about $ 425 million (1.6%) was paid to the state government for taxes and royalties.
No taxes or royalties were paid for three of Western Australia’s five major gas businesses: Pluto on Woodside, Wheatstone on Chevron, and Prelude on Shell, the report said.
Instead, 99% of the revenue came from one of them, Woodside’s North West Shelf.
The report author said that if the same royalty arrangements on the Northwest Shelf were applied to other projects in 2019-20, WA would have an additional $ 1 billion in state budget revenue and an additional $ 500 million in revenue. It states that there was. Federal funding.
Importantly, the report emphasized that this result was promoted by the Government of Western Australia rather than directly due to illegal practices by oil and gas giants.
However, Australia’s Oil Production and Exploration (APPEA) oil and gas peak agency opposed reports stating that the industry brought significant amounts of employment and wealth to the state.
“People in Western Australia know that natural gas creates local jobs and whatever this East Coast outfit suggests is essential to our community,” said APPEAWA’s director. Claire Wilkinson told The Epoch Times in an email.
“Natural gas creates thousands of direct jobs and reliably powers our homes, businesses, mines and hospitals. Importantly, the major sources of WA loyalty are mining and mineral processing. , A large user of natural gas to power their activities. “
According to the report (pdfAccording to Ernst and Young commissioned by APPEA, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry has paid $ 53 billion over the last decade and employed an average of 57,000 workers.
The report also estimates that the industry brought $ 220 billion to Western Australia’s economy over the same period, with much of the country’s gas being used for mining, mineral processing, and power generation.
But Ogge believes Western Australia deserves a larger share of the money generated by the state’s multi-billion dollar gas industry, and the profits offered to the state are negligible. Stated.
“Oil and gas companies like Woodside and Chevron are offering this precious and limited resource virtually free of charge, making huge profits from their sales, creating few jobs, and everyday Western Australians. Almost nothing is returned to Ogge, “said Ogge.
“With more comprehensive reforms, fairer royalty arrangements can generate far more income that benefits all Western Australians.”
Ogge also accused the Government of Western Australia of being overly influenced by gas companies through the use of political donations.
“The Government of Western Australia and the opposition are too close to the oil and gas industry. Unfortunately, they both accept political contributions from the industry and are effectively involved in providing resources,” he said. I did.
Ogge told the Epoch Times that the Australian Institute did not have an accurate donation, but political lobbying by oil and gas organizations is trying to stop using fossil fuels over human concerns. Said he had been previously exposed by. Caused climate change.
2020 Report The 350 argued for many sources of influence between the government and the gas industry, including regular meetings and political contributions between the government minister and gas companies.
The Epoch Times contacted the Government of Western Australia for comment, but did not receive a response in time for the announcement.
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Daniel Khmelev is a Perth-based Australian reporter working on energy, technology and politics. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, physics and computer science. Contact him at [email protected].
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