Alan Kohler is the finance presenter for Australia’s ABC News.
In a recent article for thenewdaily.com.au, he laments our Government’s continued financial support for Australia’s natural gas industry. 

Support that bitch slaps the face of our climate scientists, a group of experts who are becoming more frustrated with the unwillingness of our leaders to take note of the evidence. And act like leaders.

“I think we are headed for major societal disruption within the next five years, [Authorities] will be overwhelmed by extreme event after extreme event, and food production will be disrupted. I could not feel greater despair over the future.”

— Gretta Pecl, Professor in Marine Ecology at the University of Tasmania.

Our natural gas industry is of little importance in any economic strategy to minimise the effects of climate change. This is despite their loud protests that it is they who are an integral part of the solution.

The thing is, it has a relatively small workforce of around 20,000 people (1/6 that of Coles supermarket for example) yet it generates massive profits from gas extraction (plenty of money to ensure shareholder support and political power) and then exports the vast majority of its product overseas…. paying bugger all tax.

The Australian Taxation Office considers the oil and gas industry to be “systemic non-payers” of tax. The four biggest LNG producers operating in WA – Chevron, ExxonMobil, Woodside and Shell – made a combined income of $55.2 billion in 2021–22 and paid $1.7 billion in corporate income tax and petroleum resource rent tax. ExxonMobil paid nothing. Exxon, Woodside, Shell and Chevron contributed less to the Commonwealth government than Australia’s beer drinkers, who raised $2.5 billion through the beer excise.
— Alan Kohler.

Despite this (and despite THIS) our Government has opened the door for yet more gas projects. We are headed for imminent global collapse and yet we continue to support and fund the very people responsible for it.

It is our elected government that shows a complete inability to step up with the required response(s) as difficult as they may be. And it is us who continue to fail to hold them to immediate account. 

Full article: Alan Kohler: The Future Gas Strategy will demolish Australia’s climate change project

Here is my list of stuff we all need to do right now: Action list (URGENT)