So, the fuel excise has been cut in half for three months. Did we see that coming? Not really. Some in the government were suggesting that would backfire – if you’ll pardon the pun – this time last week.

Pressure is mounting on the government to tax gas exports. Ed Husic, Andrew Gee and Tammy Tyrrell added their voices today, as The Australia Institute launched its Gas Giveaway Tracker. Late in the day, the Senate voted to set up an inquiry into a gas tax.

Responding to a question from Sophie Scamps, the Treasurer wouldn’t rule out changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing. Momentum is building on this one, too. The Australia Institute’s polling – out today – shows that like a gas export tax, it’s not just good policy … it’s bloody popular.

So, what do we have to look forward to tomorrow?

We’ll have the usual mid-morning lull as the party room meetings take place.

The Gas Giveaway Tracker hits the road … that should be fun.

I’m hearing some of the nation’s finest musicians are getting all political tomorrow. Watch this space.

There’s also growing pressure for minimum wage earners to get an above-inflation pay rise this year for reasons which are pretty obvious.

And a shout out to Amy, who’s pulling all-nighters to meet the deadline for her next best seller. It didn’t stop her from sending us some tidy little bits and pieces from her contacts on the hill today.

Tune in tomorrow. Have a great night.

The Labor government has just joined with the Greens in the Senate and voted to set up a Parliamentary inquiry into how gas is taxed (or to be more accurate – how it is not taxed) in Australia.

The inquiry will report before the Federal Budget in May and will provide an opportunity to investigate how our approach to taxing gas exports all went so wrong and what might be done to fix it.

This is good news because a proper, fair dinkum inquiry into gas taxes in this country is long overdue.

So, what should this new inquiry look into? Fortunately, the Australia Institute has been thinking about this stuff for a while now and we reckon there are a lot of things that need investigating, including:

$68 Billion in lost revenue

Our research shows if a proper, 25% gas export tax had been implemented in 2022, it would have captured up to $68 billion in increased revenue from gas projects by now. This inquiry should get to the bottom of why that money went to multinational gas companies, and not into Australian schools and hospitals.

Want to know how much money we’ve missed out on? You can keep up to date, in real time, via the Australia Institute’s Gas Giveaway Tracker!

How much cheaper would domestic gas have been with a proper export tax?

If we had a proper gas export tax, multinational companies would have been incentivised to sell more of their product domestically, driving down the cost of electricity over recent years.

How much could Australian families have saved on their electricity and gas bills? That sounds like something a Parliamentary inquiry should be interested to know!

Major Gas Companies and Their Long Tax Holidays

The inquiry could investigate why Santos sold nearly $47 billion in gas over a decade without paying corporate tax, per ATO data.

And while it’s at it, the inquiry could also investigate why Ichthys LNG  notched $43 billion in sales with zero corporate tax paid for six years.

Nurses Pay More Tax Than the Gas Giants? Huh?!

Yep. Over 10 years to 2023-24, nurses paid $7 billion more income tax than oil and gas companies combined, Institute calculations reveal. Inversely, a fair gas export tax could fund the training and recruitment of more nurses across the country.

And Beer Drinkers Pay More Tax Than the Gas Giants?

Do beer drinkers pay more tax than gas companies? Yes, they do!

Independent Senator David Pocock recently asked Treasury officials whether beer excise raised more money than a key tax on the gas industry, Australia’s Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT). A video of the response – that yes, more money comes from beer excise than PRRT – went viral.

This inquiry could aim to understand why this sad start of affairs has existed until now and figure out how to correct the imbalance.

$40 Billion Ukraine War Bonus

LNG producers in Australia made up to $40 billion of windfall profits in FY 2021-22, thanks to soaring global gas prices due to the war in Ukraine. Australians got virtually nothing.

This inquiry should investigate how a 25% export tax would make sure that doesn’t happen again with the current war in Iran.

ACTU’s 25% Export Tax Game-Changer

Analysis by The Australia Institute reveals that replacing the broken Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) with a flat 25% tax on gas exports, as suggested by the ACTU, would raise more than $17 billion a year, enough to quadruple Commonwealth spending on housing.

And while I’m at it, it would also be good if this inquiry could help us understand: How much in extra profits and dividends flowed overseas, and how much foreign companies have made on-selling Australian gas, and…

Well, you get the idea.

The gas industry faces serious questions. And this inquiry offers Australians a real chance to get them on the record.

I wrote earlier about the mining industry’s misleading claim about taxes and public health.

So why is the industry making this claim?  Because they’ve got a great opportunity to cherry pick some data right now.

Over the financial years 2022 and 2023 – during the commodity price surge following the war in Ukraine – mining tax payments briefly exceeded annual Medicare spending. The industry’s campaign leans heavily on this temporary spike. But two exceptional years don’t tell you much about long-term sustainability.

Statement from the Greens:

The Australian Greens push to tax gas exports at least 25% is gaining momentum, with a newly won Select Committee to look at taxing Australia’s oil and gas, setting the ground for changes in the May budget.

The Select Committee will be chaired by Greens spokesperson for resources, Senator Steph Hodgins-May, who will seek to dismantle the gas industry’s excuses for not paying billions in taxes despite soaring windfall profits.

At a time of instability and rising pressure on Australia’s energy security, the inquiry will examine how fairer taxation of gas exports could deliver billions in public revenue to ease the cost of living and reduce reliance on imported fuels.

Recent polling shows strong and growing support across the political spectrum for making gas corporations pay more for selling Australia’s resources.

“Gas corporations are ripping us all off and paying virtually no tax. While people are struggling to
pay bills and seeing the cost of living go through the roof, gas corporations shouldn’t get a free
ride,” said Greens Leader Senator Larissa Waters.

“For years rich gas corporations have got most of their gas for free, shipped it overseas for
maximum profit, and now they’re making eyewatering profits off the back of the war.

“The free ride is over. People are fed up with gas industry greed and Labor’s refusal to tax gas
corporations to fund cost of living support. This is money that should be helping people pay the
bills and have what they need to live a good life.”

The Senate has just voted to back the Greens’ motion to set up an inquiry into a 25% gas export tax.

It will report back just before budget, with a focus on how gas corporations are ripping people off, the impacts of the war on gas prices, and how taxing them fairly could provide cost of living support.

Now this is a good way to wrap up the day.

Why have the major parties been slow to respond on taxing the gas industry?

No doubt there are many reasons, but one could be the donations that gas companies make to the major parties.

The Australian Electoral Commission’s data on political donations is well worth a click through. Here’s what it shows for piss-taking gas exporter, INPEX.

A total of $180,950 donated to the major parties in the lead up to the 2025 election:

Plenty of money for the major parties, nothing for minor parties and independents.

It’s worth remembering that INPEX’s largest shareholder is the Japanese Government. This is effectively an arm of the Japanese Government donating money to Australia’s two major political parties.

With no further comment, here is a link to an article in which Resource Minister Madeline King “has backed Japan’s warning that surprise gas export taxes would damage investment”.

The man who defeated Victorian Liberal Moira Deeming in a weekend preselection battle is refusing to step down, despite revelations he provided a character reference for a man convicted of sexually assaulting a child.

Leader Jess Wilson says Dinesh Gourisetty is no longer welcome in the party.

Here’s how the Guardian and ABC are reporting this.

Images from Mike Bowers.

Member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie:

Recent Senate Estimates revealed that between the first of November 2025, and 23rd January 2026, 414
older Australians appealed their support at home package. The department then advised that just two of those 414 appeals were reviewed over a seven week period. Does the minister believe that just two reviews over that time frame is acceptable?

Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, Sam Rae:

I’d like to take the opportunity to clear a couple of things up for the member. Firstly, all of the assessments that are completed under the integrated assessment tool, or using the integrated assessment tool, rather under the single assessment system, completed by qualified human assessors with clinical input documented from start to finish. It’s about making sure that we’ve got an assessment process that is efficient, accurate and fair, so that no matter where you live in Australia or who comes to do the assessment, everybody is treated equitably. Since November, we’ve completed 180,000 assessments.

In terms of the review process which is in place. There’s been requests for review, but in less than half a percent of those 180,000 assessments. Again, when we have a system that needs to be accurate, efficient and fair, we need to make sure that we can complete those assessments in a reasonable amount of time. Under the old system, people were, in some cases, being left to wait for up to 10 months in order to get their assessment completed, and by the time the old system completed or finished up, we had about $4 billion in unspent funds sitting within people’s accounts. We now have assessment times consistently. Mr. Speaker, under a month for for medium assessment times. So again, at every turn, we have sought to implement a system that is fairer for older people, that is accurate and efficient, and will continue to do so.

Independent Member for Mackellar, Sophie Scamps:

For too many young people and families, the dream of owning their own home, has become nothing more than a pipe dream. Housing tax concessions have tipped the playing field against first home buyers, causing growing intergenerational inequity. You Gov polling done in my electorate of Mackellar, and released today, shows 62% support for reform of these housing tax concessions. Will the government commit to reforming our housing tax concessions to address worsening intergenerational inequity?

Treasurer, Jim Chalmers:

Thank you to the member for Mackellar for her question about a really important issue. The government hasn’t changed its policy or position on the policies that the Member raises in her question, but we do acknowledge there are intergenerational issues in our economy and in our society, including in the housing market and in the tax system.

And that’s why when it comes to housing we’re spending so much time and money and effort trying to build more homes, playing catch up after a decade of neglect.

Also, when it comes to the intergenerational issues, that was one of the motivations behind the changes that we made to superannuation, making superannuation fairer from top to bottom, was all about making sure that the tax concessions were fairer for people who already had 10s of millions of dollars in super, and we used some of the proceeds of that to boost the superannuation balances of people on lower incomes.

We are working to address some of the intergenerational issues in the budget, in the economy and in our society. More broadly, I agree with the Honorable Member who identifies housing and tax as two of the most important areas where those intergenerational issues are most easily observed when it comes to further steps in tax policy or housing policy. The budget is still a little ways away yet, and any further changes would be a matter for cabinet in the usual way.

Not a yes, but not a no, either.

Australians are rightly sensitive to anything that could weaken our public health system.

And so, when mining companies start simultaneously arguing that their taxes fund public health and that they should pay less tax, we should read the fine print.

It’s no secret that Australia’s gas and mining companies are losing the public’s trust on how much/little tax they pay.

Which brings us to the latest ads from the lobby group representing BHP, Rio Tinto, Gina Rinehart et al, the Minerals Council of Australia. (MCA)

The MCA claim that mining pays “enough tax to fund Medicare.”  That’s a neat line, but a misleading one.

According to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Medicare (the Medicare Benefits Schedule) has cost $322 billion over the decade 2015 to 2024. Mining companies have paid about $228 billion in company tax during that period. That’s a $94 billion shortfall.

We can’t base public healthcare on the taxes of mining companies alone. This is simply mining industry propaganda.

More to come …

Darren Chester, Deputy Nationals Leader:

Victorian Farmers Federation President Brett Hosking has just released a statement in relation to farmers access to fuel, and I quote today’s announcements contain no clarity on how fuel will be prioritised if the crisis deepens. Why is the Prime Minister always the last to lead in a national crisis?

Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister:

The national fuel security plan outlines very clearly the stages that we’re at. We’re at stage two, keeping Australia moving, and that’s where we want to stay. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t plan for contingencies and that you don’t be over prepared for what may occur in the future.

As we have said very clearly, 20% of our reserves have been released, and they’ve been prioritised into those regional areas, the decision that we made on on Saturday, which will allow for the purchase of additional fuels, and included in that as well, in addition to that, allows for the purchase, potentially, of fertilizer.

In Question Time, Monquie Ryan asked Jim Chalmers about the government sending the ACCC to crack down on price gouging. As Monquie Ryan points out, price gouging is not illegal. So, what can the ACCC do?

Very little. They can only act if there is price fixing or false and misleading advertising. So, unless all the retailers get together, have a meeting, and agree to fix the price. Or they make false and misleading statements about price rises, the ACCC’s hands are tied.

If they see in the media everyone talking about price increases and decide to increase their price by more than their costs (so they increase their profits), that is completely legal.

If they see their competitors increase their price and think, yeah, I’m going to increase my price too and make a bigger profit, that is completely legal.

The government has announced that it will make price gouging illegal, but only for supermarkets. They should extend this to all businesses in Australia. Then the ACCC would have the power to act.

Andrew Willcox, LNP Member for Dawson:

The kidney support network in Mackay says volunteer drivers are being forced off the road by the national fuel crisis, putting renal patients at risk of missing dialysis. Why is this Prime Minister always last to lead in a national crisis?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:

One of the things about our country is that we’re defined by the way that we look after each other, and there’s nowhere clearer than in the example that the Member for Dawson gave. That’s one of the things that will get us through the pressures that are on right now as Australians looking after each other, that was one of the key elements of the national fuel security plan, not seeking to impose solutions on people, but saying that people should only take what they need so that fuel is available.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese launches into a quote from Deputy Opposition Leader in the House, Andrew Hastie on the ABC’s Insiders program yesterday.

I was asked a question about supply, and that’s what I’m talking about. And I know that the Manager of Opposition Business might object to me quoting positively the deputy Liberal leader, but I will, because he went on to say, yesterday, I think we need to be doing whatever we can to make sure that we have sufficient supply in this country. He went on to say, so in principle, this makes sense.

So we’re working on supply. In order to deal with the challenge which not just we’re facing, but the entire globe is facing

Independent Member for Kooyong, Monique Ryan:

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, you’ve directed the ACCC to crack down on fuel price gouging, but price gouging is not illegal in Australia, prices are set by retailers, and drivers are still angry about getting ripped off at the bowser. You’re cutting excises, but how can drivers be sure that retailers will cut prices?

Treasurer, Jim Chalmers:

This is obviously a very important question that the member for Kooyong asks, because it goes to our efforts to make sure that fuel suppliers and retailers aren’t doing the wrong thing by Australian motorists and Australian truckies, and that’s why we have substantially increased the powers of the ACCC and the penalties of the ACCC so that they can come down like a ton of bricks on anyone who is doing the wrong thing in our fuel markets. And in doing that, we’re coming after the sources of some of that gouging that the member is right to be concerned about. And so when we came to office, we increased the penalties. We allowed the ACCC to issue on the spot fines. Just recently, in the parliament, we passed the increased penalties further to up to $100 million and that’s because we share the concerns which are legitimately raised from time to time, that at a price, at a time of extraordinary price volatility in global oil markets and Australian petrol markets, the onus is on us to prevent the kind of gouging that the member for Kooyong is talking about. Similarly, I’ve just actually signed a letter in the last half an hour or so to make sure that the ACCC is particularly attentive to the change that we announced this afternoon, to make sure that the benefits of the change to the fuel excise are passed on to Australian motorists and truckies to make sure that they’re doing the right thing there as well. And so it’s an important question, a big part of the work that we’re doing, not the only part of the work that we’re doing, but to make sure the ACCC can look after the interests of our motorists and truckies.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen:

39 days worth of petrol at 1.6 billion litres, 30 days of diesel at 2.7 billion litres, and 30 days of jet fuel at about 800 million litres. And what that tells me, Mr. Speaker, is that although our refiners and our importers are delivering fuel to regional Australia in particular, at record levels, the fuel also continues to arrive in Australia and be refined in Australia.

Shadow Treasurer, Tim Wilson:

My question is to the Treasurer. An hour ago, the government followed the coalition and announced a fuel excise cut. Can the can the treasurer confirm that, unlike the coalition’s plan, there are no inflationary offsets to the government’s excise cut?

Treasurer, Jim Chalmers:

You’d think with how long they gave him to come up with his first question in quite a while, with a better question than that.

The answer then descends into a point of order debate about whether the Treasurer can comment on opposition policy. Which he can because the question referred to the opposition policy … “followed the coalition”.

Treasurer, Jim Chalmers:

I’m asked about the differences between the two approaches, we’re providing more relief, and because we’ve got a much better budget position than those opposite took to the election, we’re providing it in a more responsible way, Mr. Speaker, we’ve found $114 billion worth of offsets in less than four years, which is the kind of responsible economic management which would be unrecognisable to those opposite. Mr. Speaker, now when it comes to additional savings in the budget, we’re at the end of March. Now the budget is in the second week of May, and we’ll continue to work through all of those decisions and deliberations in the considered and methodical but decisive way that has been a hallmark of the responsible economic management under this government.

Angus Taylor begins by asking the Prime Minister why he took so long to cut the fuel excise.

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese begins by referring to Taylor as the “latest Opposition Leader”, prompting a laugh from the government benches:

What leadership is about is responding in a coherent, strategic, orderly way. And that is precisely what we have done, working with industry, working with state and territory governments, working through all of the issues, concentrating on the first issue, which is supply, making sure that we work with our international partners in the region.

The announcement that we made on Sunday about shoring up supply, changing the standards of both petrol and diesel, so there was increased supply there, as well releasing in a coherent, orderly way, 20% of the reserves, making sure that it got to where It was needed. And also working through on price, not an ill-thought-out proposal that said we’re going to actually increase electricity prices by somehow doing something on fuel, but working it through so that, as well as the Commonwealth taking action, state and territory governments are taking action as well. Making sure that we deal with the issue of the road user charge, reducing that to zero, in recognition that particularly heavy vehicles are under enormous pressure. That is what good government looks like, orderly, coherent, making sure we look after our national interests, and that’s precisely what we will continue to do.

So the Reserve Bank thinks I should stop spending so much (try telling my 9-year-old to eat less), so they put my mortgage interest rates up.

But the federal government thinks I don’t have enough to spend on petrol, so it cuts the fuel excise in half.

(Last week, I was told cutting excise would add to the problem, because it would enable people to buy more, which would push up inflation and potentially add to shortages.)

The Reserve Bank thinks soaring fuel prices (which force up the price of nearly everything else) will push up inflation, so it was right to push up interest rates.

But the soaring cost of petrol means nobody has much to spend on life’s essentials … let alone extra stuff, which would push up inflation.

I may just be a dumb journo, but I can’t help think these clowns are making it up as they go along.

The RBA’s decision to increase interest rates at its March meeting was a split decision. Five voted for an increase in interest rates and four voted to keep interest rates on hold.

Increasingly it is looking like those that wanted to hold rates were right and the RBA has made a mistake by increasing them.

As my colleague Greg Jericho reported earlier today, the rise in oil prices is having a similar effect to an increase in interest rates. People are spending more on filling up and less on everything else.

He has reported that Australian households now face the equivalent of almost two rate rises.

The RBA Governor Michele Bullock said at the time that the split decision was only about timing. But that is not quite correct. Five wanted a rise now, while four wanted more information before increasing rates.

While the Governor might have believed that a rate rise was inevitable, waiting for more information cold have clarified if a rate rise was needed.

With the war in Iran entering its second month, it increasingly appears that it is not needed. But what will ultimately happen is unknown. When will the war on Iran end? How much higher will oil prices go?

What is clear is that this crisis will continue to put pressure on household’s budgets and on economic growth. There is a big downside to higher interest rates.

Independent Tasmanian Senator Tammy Tyrrell has joined calls for a flat 25% tax on gas exports.

She starts with a joke about what it could have paid for, if it had been implemented after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Video by Mike Bowers.

Pictures from Mike Bowers as The Australia Institute tracks how much revenue the nation is losing by not imposing a gas export tax.

This is how much Australia could have raised if the Albanese government had imposed a flat 25% tax on July 1, 2022 … four months after Russia invaded Ukraine and sent gas prices soaring.

The cost of inaction? $50 million per day … or $350 million per week.

Someone’s making a fortune and its not the owners of Australia’s gas … the Australian people.

Remember, more than half the gas which leaves our shores is GIVEN AWAY.

Video by Mike Bowers.

On the back of polling showing strong support to reduce tax concession for property investors, independent member for Mackellar, Dr Sophie Samps has voiced her support for the government to make changes in the upcoming federal budget to make housing fairer.

Polling released today across the independently held seats of Kooyong, Mackellar and Wentworth revealed very strong support for reducing tax concessions like the 50% capital gains tax (CGT) discount and negative gearing.

A majority of voters in all three federal seats supported policies that would reduce tax such concessions for property investors, with more than a third of voters in each seat expressing “strong support”.

Dr Scamps announced that “it’s time for housing reform, and Mackellar is ready”. She referred to the polling, noting “in a clear majority, 61.5% of locals agree or strongly agree that the Federal Government should reduce tax concessions for property investors, including the 50% capital gains tax discount”.

It might surprise some that Scamps, who represents a pretty high-income electorate, would be so in favour of such reforms, or even that voters in high-income electorates also have such strong support.

But it is no surprise if you see what happened in the 2019 election. The ALP took a policy to cut the CGT discount to 25% and limit negative gearing to 1 new house to that election. Rather than cause it to lose the election for Labor, in high-income seats, the ALP won significant swings:

In effect the 2019 election, which turned very safe Liberal Party seats into ones that were quite vulnerable, helped lead to the Teal victories in 2022.

People know the housing market is stuffed and distorted, and this polling – and Dr Scamps announcement today – reveals voters want reform and an end to policy tinkering that only juices up demand and prices.  

The government has just announced that it will be halving the fuel excise and temporarily axing the heavy vehicle road user charge at a cost of $2.55 billion. Halving the fuel excise will cut prices by 26.2 cents per litre and axing the heavy vehicle charge will reduce the cost of diesel by 32.4 cents per litre.

The government expects this will lower the headline rate of inflation by 0.5%.

Unfortunately, as I reported earlier, this will just maintain demand for fuel at a time when there is a shortage. The higher price is a signal for people to try and use less fuel if they can. The government should target any relief to those who can’t reduce their use and who are struggling financially.

The Treasurer, Jim Chalmers did not say how the government would pay for this, but suggested it would be revealed in the budget.

A 25% tax on gas exports would raised around $15bn-$17bn which would more than pay for it. And while we might not recommend using that money to halve a fuel excise (subsiding electricity bills, investing in public transport or increasing rent assistance or support for those on government benefits would be better) it does show the government can choose to make life better for Australians with a tax on gas exports.

The Prime Minister convened a virtual National Cabinet meeting today to discuss Australia’s national, coordinated response to support our fuel security and supply chain resilience in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

First Ministers acknowledged the conflict is contributing to heightened volatility in global energy markets, with flow-on impacts for domestic supply chains and prices. Leaders noted the situation remains dynamic and evolving, underscoring the importance of governments being well-prepared for a range of potential scenarios.

While Australia is in a secure position currently, it’s the responsibility of all governments to plan ahead for every scenario. First Ministers today agreed to the National Fuel Security Plan to coordinate a consistent response across the Commonwealth, states and territories.

The plan outlines how governments will work together to keep Australia open and the economy moving. First Ministers noted that early voluntary action, coupled with new supply measures, can defer or mitigate the need for stronger measures.

Every Australian can play a part to make sure fuel continues to get to those who need it the most. Our collective approach is guided by four levels of action. Today the National Cabinet is announcing Australia is currently at level “Keeping Australia moving”, having transitioned through “Plan and Prepare”.

The four stages are as follows:

• Plan and prepare
• Keeping Australia moving
• Taking targeted action
• Protecting critical services for all Australians

The plan outlines the indicative settings at each level, with roles and responsibilities allocated across governments and industry partners.

Minister Bowen provided an update on Australia’s supply outlook. The Fuel Supply Taskforce Coordinator, Anthea Harris, provided an update on the progress of the Fuel Supply Taskforce. Leaders noted the newly formed Fuel Supply Coordinators group has met twice and will continue to meet twice weekly. Leaders agreed the Fuel Supply Coordinators will be critical to ensure alignment of effort across all levels of government, especially for cross-border considerations.

Leaders reinforced their commitment to securing fuel supply for Australian industry and households, while also shielding Australians from higher prices. Leaders acknowledged the longer the conflict in the Middle East goes on, the more significant the impact will be for global supply chains, fuel prices, and the wider economy.

The National Cabinet will continue to assess whether higher levels of action are needed and will plan accordingly. Any shift in level will be signalled by the National Cabinet, including through consultation with relevant industries and sectors, to ensure additional measures are well-designed and work efficiently.

First Ministers concluded by noting that as their governments work through the immediate challenges, they must all build fuel and energy resilience to shield the Australian community and industry from future global shocks. At the heart of this is unlocking affordable and sovereign energy to underpin Australian industry, lower power prices, and maintain Australia’s status as a trusted and reliable energy exporter.

The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Energy Minister Chris Bowen are speaking after this morning’s National Cabinet meeting about the fuel crisis.

The government will halve the fuel excise for three months, cutting petrol prices by about ten percent.

Halving the fuel excise will reduce the cost of fuel by 26.3 cents per litre. Importantly, in addition, states and territories have agreed and are finalising a proposal to ensure they won’t benefit from the elevated prices that are occurring because of the GST.

This is where the opposition starts using the phrase “kicking and screaming”.

After his electoral win last week, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas was circumspect, warning that “If you think there is still such a thing as a safe seat, you’re deluding yourself.” Yesterday, on ABC’s Insider’s program, federal Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie says the Liberal “primary vote is being cannibalised from both the right and the left.”

Clearly both major parties are spooked. A Newspoll released today shows support for the Albanese Labor government is at its lowest level since last year’s election. A different poll conducted earlier in March found that, within Victoria, support for Liberal and Labor are both lower than 30%, but support for One Nation is on the rise.

The share of the vote going to the Labor, Liberal and National parties (the “major parties”) has declined significantly since World War II. So-called ‘Teal’ independents are now firmly part of the Australian political landscape. ‘Bellwether seats’ are so last decade, and Australian voters are no-longer confined within two-party contests. That’s a good thing for democracy, because, if there really are no safe seats, every vote in every seat matters. 

Parliaments exist to share power, and power sharing has been a feature of Australian parliaments for as long as they have existed: between different interest groups, different communities and different political movements; across the upper and lower houses; within parties (via factions); and between parties (including coalition agreements like those between the Liberals and the Nationals). Seen in this context, the growth in minor party and independent representation is just the latest example of power sharing.

Artist Nordacious (James Hillier) is known for his irreverent art – often satirising politicians and public figures like Donald Trump, Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor, sometimes celebrating activists, bureaucrats and cultural figures.

He’s also the only person I’m aware of who turned the Royal Commission into Robodebt into art: celebrating Centrelink employee Jeannie-Marie Blake whose early warnings about the illegal Morrison Government scheme were dismissed by senior public servants.  

As Amy reported on the live blog earlier today, Nordacious has been targeted under the new Queensland laws that ban saying “from the river to the sea” or “globalise the intifada”. The police didn’t feel the need to specify which were the offending artworks, but the best guess is his artwork depicting the arrest of an activist wearing a singlet with the phrase.

Have the police correctly interpreted the law?

I doubt it, but they don’t need to be right to shut down the speech.

Nordacious has taken down the artwork, and a couple of related ones, as a precautionary measure. Of course he would – when the offence could send someone to jail for creating art, artists are going to err on the side of caution.

It’s not the first time that police have been over-zealous in enforcing “hate speech” laws.

Here in Canberra, Dissent Café was raided and temporarily shut down for satirical posters depicting Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and other public figures photoshopped as Nazis, under the slogan “The Turd Reich” – on the basis that they breached laws against displaying Nazi symbols.

A week later, police dropped the case and returned the posters – having drawn far more attention to them than if they had understood the law and respected free speech.

Last year, a Wagga Wagga shop owner was charged under the state’s Nazi symbols laws for displaying posters “depicting Coalition politicians and Australian billionaires as German World War II soldiers”.

Indiscriminately conflating modern politicians and billionaires with actual Nazis risks trivialising the Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities. And if the accusation of “Nazi” is thrown around lightly, people will become numb to warnings about the real and ongoing risk of fascism.

But, to be clear, criticising someone by comparing them to the Nazis is not pro-Nazi, and it is absurd that laws intended to quash neo-Nazis are being used to shut down anti-fascist displays.

The Australia Institute warned about overreach when Nazi symbol laws were being debated three years ago, with Postdoc Fellow Benjamin Walters writing:

how do we get the balance right to ensure that only those displaying Nazi symbols in bad faith are committing an offence? … We must also consider their use in anti-fascist protest – photoshopping a Nazi armband onto a picture of a politician may appear in poor taste to some, but this sort of political action should not be conflated with pro-white supremacist political action and should certainly not warrant a prison sentence.

These types of public presentations are important to maintain as lawful displays and must be protected from government overreach.

Instead of heeding the warning, politicians rushed to legislate and police have rushed to censor – with chilling effects on free speech, harassment of artists and local businesses, and wasted police time and resources.

It was a busy morning in the big house.

Mike Bowers hasn’t missed a beat.

From Treasurer Jim Chalmers doing all the brekkie TV and radio shows … to Angus and Barnaby chiming in on the fuel crisis.

The Coalition has been criticizing the government every time a petrol station runs out of fuel. Now it’s proposing to cut the fuel excise in halve to make fuel cheaper. Because nothing solves a shortage faster than making it cheaper… right?

The best thing about being in opposition is that none of your suggestions have to make sense and the Coalition is taking full advantage of that during this oil shock.

After recently talking constantly about how the government needs to live within its means, it is now proposing cutting billions of dollars in fuel excise. But before you think this is fiscal reckless, they have also proposed budget offsets.

These offsets include killing off the electric car discount and the home battery scheme.

Not only are they programs that will shield Australian households from high energy prices, but they are also the very programs that can structurally change the Australian economy to make us less reliant on oil.

The opposition seem intent on making sure that Australia continues to remain reliant on oil. So, next time someone decides it would be a great idea to bomb somewhere with lots of oil, we can face another crisis.

Independent ACT Senator David Pocock was at the launch of The Australia Institute’s Gas Giveaway Tracker at Parliament House this morning.

And he didn’t hold back:

Video by Mike Bowers.

My best mate in Victoria has declared South Australia’s Sheffield Shield victory:

Without doubt that is the most heartbreaking Sheffield Shield defeat I have ever seen from Victoria in my lifetime. Lost the unloseable.

Chief Economist Greg Jericho has a different take:

In news that will cheer all South Aussies, including expats like myself, the South Australian Redbacks have taken 5 wickets this morning to win the Sheffield Shield final.

They beat Victoria by 56 runs to win the title back to back. Go you good things!!!

When the RBA raised rates back on 18 March, petrol prices had already taken off and yet at the time the RBA governor told reporters that there was too much demand in the economy (ie she believes we were spending too much and so rates needed to go up so we would have to spend more money on our mortgage and less money in the shops – basically the RBA wants life to be tougher).

Not surprisingly you might think that higher petrol prices would do much the same thing. After all as people are finding out, it’s hard to just stop using petrol. But Michele Bullock at the time said, “higher fuel costs will not slow demand enough on their own to address this.”

Well at the time the rise in petrol prices as equivalent to 80% of a 25 basic point rate rise, within a few days it was equal to one.

Now we have had another couple weeks of prices going up. The average price rise in the past week is a touch over 65 cents – or 34%

Given we know the monthly cost of a rate rise to the economy is $495m (ie that is how much loan repayment for housing goes up, meaning there is that much less to spend elsewhere).

But the 65cent/litre increase in petrol prices is now costing Australians $866m – which makes it 1.75 times that of a standard rate rise, or equivalent to increase rates by 44 basis points.

When you put that together with the 25 basic points increase in February and the 25 basis points one two weeks ago Australians have this year been hit with essentially a 94 basis point rise in interest rates in 2 months.

I wonder if the RBA still thinks people aren’t doing it tough enough.

Tonight’s Four Corners will focus on Australia’s scandal-ridden university sector. While the details of individual scandals are intriguing and shocking, it’s important to remember they are the predictable outcome of a broken governance system.

The core problem is a vacuum of accountability. In the university sector, no one is held responsible for failure, at least no one at the top.

While vice-chancellors have CEO-like million-dollar pay packets, the university councils they answer to do not face nearly the same scrutiny as a public company’s board of directors.

A board of directors is elected by the company’s owners (shareholders). As these shareholders have a vested interest in the company’s commercial success, they are likely to vote out any directors who do not act in these interests.

What about university councils? To start with, most do not represent those with the greatest stake in their success.

Only about one in four positions on university councils are elected by staff and students.

Instead, most council positions are either directly selected by people already on the council or appointed by governments on the recommendation of council members.

This means councils are essentially self-perpetuating. Members are often drawn from the corporate sector and do not have genuine experience or understanding of the university sector’s peculiarities.

The simple truth is that most university council members do not have a material interest in the success or failure of the institution, and there are no mechanisms to hold them accountable. The main benefit that appointed members gain from their position is in being associated with a prestigious institution, which gives them the chance to network with other high-powered individuals.

In this context, it is not surprising that universities too often overlook their core functions of teaching and research, and instead prioritise fancy new buildings, flashy advertising, and lavish networking events for alumni and staff.

University councils need to be fundamentally restructured. The number of appointed members needs to be reduced, and a majority of members on university councils should be elected by staff and students. The public interest in universities should be safeguarded through government-appointed council members, strong regulations, and powerful regulators.

Labor’s Ed Husic has joined The Australia Institute and crossbench MPs at a press conference at Parliament House, suggesting the government call gas export companies’ bluff if they think actually paying for what they take would scare investors away.

Video by Mike Bowers.

The ABC is reporting that One Nation is 25 votes ahead in the electorate of Mackillop, south east of Adelaide – and is expected to go on and win the seat.

Yesterday, Labor claimed victory in Morphett, a seat held by the Liberals for almost half a century.

The current state of the lower house count is Labor 34, Liberal 5, One Nation 4, Independent 2, with 2 in doubt.

So, the Liberals retain the title of “state opposition”.

The next party room meeting is expected to be held in a banged-up old Toyota Corolla.

NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has doubled down on his claim that free public transport.

But he’s refused to rule it out in the weeks ahead, saying the government is “keeping our powder dry”, as the crisis escalates.

Meanwhile, Tasmania has followed Victoria’s lead, announcing that there’s no need for bus travellers to tap on and off when they board and depart, from today.

Video by Mike Bowers:

Helen Haines has released a statement on the shooting of Dezi Freeman:

Over the past six months, a dark cloud has hung over the Porepunkah community. 

News this morning of the death of Mr Freeman draws this prolonged and devastating incident to a close.

This will come as a relief to the whole community – especially to the families of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, and their colleagues.  

I thank Victoria Police, and all those involved in the search for their determination and service. 

A group of organisations is urging National Cabinet to rule out changes to the EV discount.

The organisations: Electric Vehicle Council, Rewiring Australia, the Clean Energy Council, the National Automotive Leasing and Salary Packaging Association, the Australian Finance Industry Association, the Motor Traders Association of Australia, the Australasian Fleet Management Association, BYD, Polestar, Tesla, Positive Salary Packaging, EVSE, enreal, Volkswagen Financial Services, Suzuki, GVA, MotorOne Group, Shoprite, Rubbertree, GWM, Inside Edge, Achieve Australia, EV Dealer Group, Autoleague, Automotive Leasing, Pepper Money, First Nations Finance, Unisson Disability, Driva, Tynan Motors and Uniting.

A broad coalition of organisations across the energy, automotive, finance, disability, environmental and consumer sectors is urging National Cabinet to rule out any changes to the Electric Car Discount in the May 2026 Budget, as Australia faces a worsening fuel crisis. The above signed organisations are calling on National Cabinet to agree that no changes be made to the Electric Car Discount, recognising its role in helping households shield themselves from global fuel shocks and reducing Australia’s dependence on imported oil.

Independent MP Monique Ryan:

The families who are the most energy secure right now are those with solar, home batteries, and electric vehicles. The FBT exemption has driven more than 105,000 additional EV purchases since 2022 and tripled the size of the second-hand EV market. This is the kind of policy success we should be accelerating, not abandoning.

Greens Leader, Larissa Waters:

We are at the beginning of what is going to be a deep and prolonged oil shock. Billionaires started an illegal war, oil and gas companies are reaping mega profits, and regular people are paying the price. Why on earth are the Treasurer and Energy Minister working up a full body slam against the cleanest and cheapest cars to run available to Australian motorists right now? We should be looking at ways to incentivise EV uptake and make them cheaper so more people can afford one, not making them more expensive during a fuel crisis.

Opposition leader Angus Taylor continues to sound like a mix of Peter Dutton and Sussan Ley.

Mike Bowers caught him a short time ago, offering advice to those attending the National Cabinet meeting, which began at 10am.

Video by Mike Bowers.

At this month’s South Australian election, one of the seats that has come down to the wire is Narungga – a seat on the state’s Yorke Peninsula.

At the time of writing, there is 25 votes between One Nation’s Chantelle Thomas (currently 50.1% two-candidate preferred) and Liberal Tania Stock (49.9%). Ms Stock has been gaining as the preference count continues, but she has a formidable gap to close: One Nation won 37.4% first-preference votes to the Liberals’ 22.6%.

To close that gap, Antony Green reports that the Liberals need 71% of preferences: in other words, of all those who voted for someone other than Liberal or One Nation, 71% need to have put the Liberal candidate higher than One Nation.  

The Liberals are so close thanks to those preferences: that independent, Labor, Greens and minor party voters prefer Liberals to One Nation at a rate of more than 2 to 1.

It’s an early example of the “unexpected power” that progressive and independent voters will have if One Nation continues to poll well: that Labor, Greens and other voters could be “kingmakers” whose preferences decide whether a Liberal, National or One Nation candidate wins their seat.

Bernard Keane in Crikey explains how this requires conservative candidates to think about progressive voters:

“But if the Liberals move still further to the right and become yet more like One Nation, progressive voters will have less and less reason to single out Hanson and her cronies for special preference treatment, and the remaining traditional Liberal voters — affluent, moderate, supportive of lower taxes and less regulation — will abandon the party, thereby chipping away at the last hurdles before Liberal electoral nothingness.”

I don’t mean to overstate the effect of progressive preferences. In South Australia, the Liberals won a couple of seats so handily that preferences were almost irrelevant, and others come down to a classic Labor–Liberal race where what voters think of One Nation doesn’t matter. But when a party is headed for five seats, every seat matters – and that means progressive preferences matter, even in seats where no progressive candidate is competitive.

Narungga is an early example, but it will not be the last if One Nation’s streak continues.

Stepping away from politics for a moment:

Seven months after shooting dead two police in north-east Victoria, fugitive Dezi Freeman has been shot dead by police.

He was shot at a rural property just after 8:30am, having, apparently, not left the Porepunkah region since shooting the officers on August 26 last year.

Consumer advocate, CHOICE, is launching a new campaign, demanding the government ban price gouging “whenever and wherever it happens”.

Morgan Campbell, Head of Policy at CHOICE says:

At the moment, we have a law that says it’s illegal to use your market power to keep prices artificially low, but no law that says it’s illegal to use that same market power to keep prices artificially high. That doesn’t add up. This won’t be the last time we see disruption and sudden price hikes. We need new price gouging protections for the situation we’re in right now, but also for the next one and the one after that.

I saw a reference to Newspoll on tv this morning. Labor’s primary vote is down 1% to 31%.

One Nation’s primary vote was also down 1%, to 26%, with the Greens increasing their support.

The Herald Sun (I only read it for the footy, I promise) reports this as voters: smashing support for Anthony Albanese’s government and driving support to One Nation.

You couldn’t make this stuff up.

Except, apparently, they do!

New polling conducted for the Australia Institute reveals broad support for reducing the perks which give property investors a significant advantage over owner-occupiers in the property market.

Even Liberal voters are ready to scrap the capital gains tax discount introduced by the Howard government in1999, which has enabled investors to pay tax on just half of what they make when the sell an investment property.

Similarly, a majority of voters are ready to put limits on negative gearing, which also provides huge tax breaks for investors, like making interest payments tax deductible.

In a national poll of 1502 people, conducted by YouGov, 50% of respondents agreed with the statement: The Commonwealth Government should reduce tax concessions for property investors, such as the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing. 28% disagreed.

In separate polls in the seats of Kooyong, Mackellar, Wentworth and Farrer, conducted by uComms, between 52% and 62% of respondents agreed with the same question.

Key points:

• In the national poll, Independent (63%), Labor (59%) and Greens (57%) voters believe tax concessions for property investors should be reduced.
• In the same poll, more One Nation and Liberal voters agreed than disagreed. (One Nation 45% agree/33% disagree, Liberal 44% agree/37% disagree.)
• In the seat-by-seat polling, more Liberal voters in Sussan Ley’s old seat of Farrer agreed with cutting tax concessions for property investors than disagreed. Same with One Nation voters.

“These perks have distorted the property market for a generation, skewing it massively in favour of wealthy investors at the expense of owner occupiers, particularly first home buyers,” said Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist at The Australia Institute. 

“Not only have they been forced to compete with cashed-up investors who enjoy huge tax breaks while they pay off their investment properties – and even bigger ones when they sell them – those same tax breaks have helped send property prices out of reach for many Australians.

“It is absolutely imperative that in this year’s budget the government reverses this 25-year trend of juicing demand for housing and scrap the capital gains tax discount.

“The CGT discount is the biggest single incentive for investors. By scrapping it, the federal government will advantage first home buyers, helping more Australians into a home of their own.”

Energy Minister Chris Bowen will today introduce legislation which will enable the government to underwrite the purchase of fuel supplies.

So how will that work? Here’s the minister on ABC radio a short time ago:

The market’s getting a lot more expensive and a lot more volatile and a lot riskier. And for them, it’s very difficult to buy cargos, which are maybe $25 million or more expensive than they were a few weeks ago, in such a volatile environment with the price of oil moving around. But it’s unquestionably in the national interest that those cargos come here. So what we’ve said is we’ll set up Export Finance Australia to help these firms hedge their risk so that they can make these purchases with confidence so that they can buy these cargos and get them on the way to Australia as soon as possible.

But couldn’t these rich companies just pay more – after all, they’re charging a lot more?

Smaller players, independent distributors who do import, they obviously don’t have the same cash flow and balance strength that some of the really big players have, so they just find it impossible in this market to with confidence by very expensive tankers, which might take a month to get to Australia, and by the atime it gets to Australia, who knows what the oil price will be because of the very volatile situation in the Middle East. Then you’ve got larger players who say they’re doing it at the moment, but there’ll come a point if the price keeps going up or it gets more volatile, when they simply won’t be able to do it. Now, we don’t want to see that situation emerge. So obviously this is ahead of the curve. It’s one step ahead. It’s not something which has been essential up until now, but from this point forward, we think it’s absolutely vital that we have this flexibility.

We pointed out earlier that NSW Transport Minister John Graham won’t make public transport free, saving households money and precious fuel stocks, because it would cost “millions of dollars every single day”.

Just to the north of NSW there’s a state that’s had near-free public transport for a while now. Queensland implemented 50c public transport under Labor Premier Stephen Miles, partly funded by high coal royalties when prices are high.

Oh, look, the coal price is high, what a surprise during an energy crisis!!

In 2024, NSW belatedly increased coal royalties and yet NSW coal production increased the following year, from 229 million tonnes to 240 million tonnes.

This shows that NSW could increase coal royalties, perhaps with a higher rate when price is above US$100/t and raise plenty of money to fund public transport and other services.

NSW Transport Minister John Graham won’t give out free public transport like Victoria has because it would cost “millions of dollars every single day”.

Perhaps Minister Graham could scrap some of the state’s fossil fuel subsidies (page 56) to help out his voters:

• $225 million to underwrite Origin Energy’s coal-fired power station.
• $216 million into new coal railways in Hunter Valley (ARTC)
• $25 million left in the NSW Coal Innovation Fund that the government has just announced they are winding up anyway (p16).
• $17 million left in the Minerals and Petroleum Investment Fund and the Minerals and Petroleum Administration Funds

You’re welcome, Minister!

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is doing the media rounds this morning.

He’s not giving anything away about what National Cabinet will decide when it meets at 10am.

But he’s telling anyone who’ll listen he’s keen to avoid “COVID-style” measures, like forced fuel rationing or work-from-home mandates.

That’s after a News Corp commentator yesterday said the fuel crisis was akin to “COVID without masks”, a line he’d clearly prepared before the cameras were rolling.

The Treasurer has told ABC TV:

The best way to avoid the kind of harsher COVID-style measures is to do that work. And the better we do on the front end of this challenge we have in our economy, the more likely we are to avoid some of those harsher measures and restrictions down the track.

Mike Bowers caught him in the gallery corridor:

Demonstrators decrying President Donald Trump’s policies have taken to city streets across the US in the ‌third edition of the “No Kings” rallies.

More than 3200 events took place in all 50 US states and several cities outside the United States.

The two previous No ‌Kings events attracted millions of participants.

Singers Bruce Springsteen and Joan Baez headlined a rally at the state capital in Minnesota, where upward of 100,000 people gathered in an area that became a flashpoint over Trump’s crackdown ‌on illegal immigration and the incursion of federal immigration agents into Democratic-led urban centres.

Other large rallies took place in New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC but two-thirds of the events are happening outside major city centres, a nearly 40 per cent jump for smaller communities from the movement’s first mobilisation last June, organisers said.

On the National Mall in Washington DC, the crowd chanted pro-democracy slogans and held anti-Trump signs.

Outside one high-rise assisted-living centre in Chevy Chase, Maryland, a group of elderly people in wheelchairs held signs encouraging passing cars to “Resist tyranny,” “Honk if you want democracy” and “Dump Trump”.

In Austin, Texas, a brass band provided the soundtrack as protesters gathered outside City Hall before a march through downtown.

Thousands gathered ‌in midtown Manhattan where ‌actor Robert De Niro, one of the ⁠organisers, said that “there have been other presidents who have tested the constitutional limits of their power but none have

A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee criticised Democratic politicians and candidates for supporting the rallies.

“These Hate America Rallies are where the far-left’s most violent, deranged fantasies get a microphone and House Democrats get their marching orders,” spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement.

With ⁠midterm elections later this year in the US, organisers say they have seen a surge in the number of ‌people organising anti-Trump events and registering ​to participate in deeply Republican states like Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Utah.

In northern Virginia just outside Washington DC, several hundred people began gathering close to Arlington National Cemetery before a planned march across the Potomac River to the capital city’s National Mall.

Some passing drivers honked their horns in support but others slowed down to berate the protesters.

“You’re all idiots,” one man shouted from his car.

John Ale, 57, a ​retired ​air-conditioning and heating contractor, said he drove 20 minutes from his home in Virginia to join ​the march.

“What’s happening in this country is unsustainable,” he said.

“The middle class, the little people, can’t afford to ‌live anymore. And he (Trump) is breaking the norms, the things that made us function as a country.”

Every week the federal government delays implementing a 25% gas export tax costs the Australian public around $350 million in revenue, new research from The Australia Institute reveals.

A new Gas Giveaway Tracker, unveiled today by The Australia Institute, shows the revenue that is being lost, in real time, while the government does not implement a 25% gas export tax.

The Gas Giveaway Tracker will be launched by cross-party and independent MPs and Senators in the Mural Hall at Parliament House at 10:30am today.

Key points:

• Every day the government delays implementing a 25% gas export tax cost the budget $49.8 million
  • That equates to $348.9m per week.
• By delaying a gas export tax, the Albanese government has already missed out on an estimated $68 billion since July 2022.
  • That is enough to have funded free childcare or free university and TAFE for all Australians over the same period.

“The longer we delay implementing a gas export tax, and the longer the government defends the failed PRRT, the more it is costing the Australian people,” said Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO at The Australia Institute.

“As our gas giveaway tracker shows, every day of delay cost tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue.

“Right now, gas companies get most of the gas they export from Australia for free, thanks to government giveaways.

“Implementing a flat 25% tax on gas exports would ensure that the Australian people got a fair return for their resources.

“Australia Institute research shows voters across the political spectrum, from One Nation to the Greens, overwhelmingly support a 25% tax on gas exports.

“Properly taxing our gas exports could raise $17 billion every year to help pay for Australian schools and hospitals.”

After coming down on activists with the slogan ‘from the river to the sea’ written on t-shirts, to religious objectors to the genocide in Gaza, the Crisafulli Queensland government is now coming down on popular artist Nordacious, government name James Hillier, for his political art highlighting the ridiculousness and double standards of the freedom of expression crackdown.

Hillier, like the others identified by police as breaking the anti-democratic laws, has received notice from police that some of his art, which highlights those who have been punished for speaking out, as well as a piece which utililises John Farnham’s lyrics to Two Strong Hearts ‘like the river to the sea; have drawn the ire of the law.

There are meant to be exceptions to the Crisafulli anti-democratic Joh era laws, which can see people jailed for up to two years if they say/promote/write the phrases ‘from the river to the sea’ and ‘globalise the intifada. Intifada is just the Arabic word for awakening and has been used to mean the awakening to the apartheid and genocide Israel is carrying out against Israel (a reality the nation state’s leadership and supporter’s deny) while from the river to the sea refers to the freedom of the Palestinian people, who live under threatening apartheid conditions, which give Israeli’s free reign over their land. Critics though, are convinced that calling for the liberation of one people must mean the destruction and subjugation of another, which is a complete and deliberate misreading of what people mean.

Hillier is seeking legal advice, but like everyone fighting against this tide, is exhausted and alarmed. He says if any good comes out of it, it may have helped people who still claim politics is above them, just how draconian the laws are.

Keep an eye on this one.

The Greens are still pushing for free national public transport during the fuel crisis, an idea, which at one point last week, had the support of independents and Bridget McKenzie in the Senate.

Victoria has been the first state to jump on board, with free trips starting tomorrow.

For the slow among us, getting more people onto public transport can help free up fuel for those who actually need it. It depends on the routes, the jurisdiction and the implementation though (if we get that far) but the states don’t hate it.

Queensland is gloating, because the LNP was forced at the last election to keep the extremely popular 50c fares Queensland Labor put in place under Steven Miles. It was rubbished at first and has now proven itself an incredible idea, which has helped mean more people visit areas outside of Greater Brisbane, boasting public transport.

Hello and welcome to the last few days of parliament before the easter break. After Wednesday, the parliament won’t sit until May when Jim Chalmers hands down the budget and from all accounts, it is going to be a bit of a rough one. There is some light on the horizon though – the push to have a 25% flat tax applied to Australian gas exports is gaining momentum, and Liberal renegade Andrew Hastie’s public open mind on both that, and the housing investment tax changes has the Liberals now at a crossroads as to what they are going to do.

There is so much public support for both, that the last party to support these things is going to be the biggest losers. Hastie is best paced to see which way the wind is blowing and is not afraid to be a bit populist about it all. Populist isn’t always bad – sometimes it brings about much needed reforms and that seems to be where Hastie is going with all of this. Let’s see how many of his colleagues, who are desperate for some relevance he manages to bring along for the ride. Or at least how many are brave enough to join him.

Meanwhile the government has called National Cabinet because shiz is getting real regarding the fuel shortages. If only we had begun the transition decades ago, huh? But now we are stuck with no energy security, which means our national security is at the mercy of allies we can convince to swing us some stop gap tankers. Fuel will get to those industries that can afford to pay for it, but that is no good for every day people. Something has to give and hopefully it is our slavish devotion to fossil fuel. It’s not just transport. It is food security too. That’s going to become a bigger problem – when produce stops being affordable, you will know we are in a full blown crisis.

Now Glenn Connley will be taking you through this short week, because I have decided to ruin my life by agreeing to write another book and the deadline is this week and I have 40,000 words to write, without AI (because honestly i would rather stab myself with a rusty fork than betray people, and rely on tech barons to tell me anything).

So Glenn will take you through the sitting, along with Mike Bowers. I will be back in May, and I will be checking in when necessary, as well as writing my usual columns when the easter break ends. So please, keep me in your thoughts. There is not enough coffee in the world, but I am fueled by rages and coffee, which is obviously an editor’s dream. if you want to check in, I would also love that.

But please extend Glenn the same help, curiosity, tid bits and general humor you share with me. The Point Live is growing its audience – and we are starting to rival some of the established players, which is incredible, because honestly, in these times, you need people who are going to tell you as it is, while not hiding their ideological bent. Fake neutrality is what got us in this position. We are in the business of being as intellectually honest as we can – we won’t hide where we are coming from, but we also won’t give you vibes and hot air. We will bring you context, history and research.

And honestly – that is our only way through it. So stick with us through the next little while – we are a small team, but motivated to make things better through facts, honesty and responding to you telling us what you need and what is missing. That’s our goal – to make the world, and Australia, a little easier to understand and hopefully empower you to vote in a way that you feel furthers your interests.

So while I am in writer’s hell, spare a thought for Glenn who has been thrown in the deep end to do me a solid. I’ll be thinking of you all and I’m around if you need me. But between Glenn, the team of contributors we are building and Mike Bowers who has kindly made himself available to us, you have things pretty much covered.

May Dolly be with us all.

Ready? Glenn will jump in with you. Take care of you, and those around you Ax