Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Warringah for her question. I do understand, appreciate and respect that the member for Warringah has had a view about the PRRT and about the taxation of resources, particularly when we're seeing these quite extraordinary prices for gas in our economy. Our focus when it comes to the gas market is building on the good work of Minister King, who has guaranteed more supply into the market. It is to work with other colleagues—Minister King, Minister Husic, Minister Bowen and others—to now turn our attention to the code of conduct and to see if there's something meaningful we can do on the price side of the equation as well.

I understand that there are a number of people in the community—a lot of people who I respect—who have called for us to somehow dial up the PRRT. My predecessor the former member for Kooyong Josh Frydenberg—and I have been kind to him about this because I think it was the right step—began some work in the Commonwealth Treasury about the taxation of gas in the PRRT. What the Treasury did was that they began that work. There was an initial report. Josh Frydenberg took some initial steps, but the work was paused while the department, for good and understandable reasons, focused on the COVID response. That work is in the process of restarting. We have said that it's not something that we're focused on. Our focus is on the regulatory side—on prices and the code of conduct and some of those other issues. But obviously, if and when the Treasury completes that work, I will take their advice seriously.

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