Has Albo grown a backbone at last?
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has flagged an expansion in gas production but stopped short of ruling out higher taxes on exports in the May budget, as Singapore warned it would look elsewhere if Australian energy became too expensive.
Albanese met Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday as the government seeks to shore up oil imports by engaging regional partners that supply refined fuel but also depend on Australian LNG.
But the diplomatic push to emphasise Australia’s reliability as an energy exporter sits uneasily with proposals circulating within government to raise taxes on gas exports, capturing windfall profits from the Middle East conflict.
Albanese did not rule out the possibility of an increase in taxes on gas exports in the May budget on Friday, though stressed his focus in the current period was “supply, supply and supply”, flagging an expansion of Australian gas production.
You’re damned right he shouldn’t give up the threat. It is part of the leverage to get fuel for LNG.
Moreover, if that fails, the LNG export cartel may choose to engage in war profiteering.
The local gas price is at a one-month high.
