The Morrison Government is proposing significant subsidies for gas projects and infrastructure as a key part of our economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subsidising the gas industry means there is less to spend on communities who are struggling as a result of the pandemic. Recovery spending should benefit people and the environment, not just serve the interests of multinational fossil fuel companies that pay little or no tax, and employ very few people.

Essential polling shows two-thirds of voters support public spending on renewables instead of gas. Affordable housing, large scale infrastructure and extension of job seeker and job keeper payments all ranked highly. Additional polling reveals just 14% of voters support the government’s planned gas subsidies over supporting other industries.

This report is the product of hundreds of conversations with people in communities across Australia, thousands of submissions to the government’s National Gas Infrastructure Plan (NGIP), and online surveys.

It’s clear that Australians do not want their tax contributions handed to oil and gas companies. There are significant concerns that these companies intend to export the majority of gas extracted, pay little or no tax, and make it all but impossible to meet the global goal of keeping warming to well below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Our consultation has shown that Australians have a vision of an economic recovery that is substantially different to the Government’s current policies. Analysis of surveys and submissions to the NGIP showed that the most popular ideas for public spending to support economic recovery were: renewable energy; environment and climate adaptation; education; and housing.