Overview
- Pauline Hanson publicly launched the proposal at the Australian Energy Producers conference in Adelaide on Thursday, May 21, calling for the PRRT to be abolished for offshore projects and replaced with a royalty and state co-investment model.
- Under the plan the Commonwealth would levy a 10% wellhead royalty and may take equity stakes in new offshore licences, with government returns placed into a Norway-style sovereign investment vehicle.
- One Nation has briefed industry figures and enlisted Barnaby Joyce in consultations earlier this month, but the Coalition and Opposition leader Angus Taylor have rejected extra charges and urged industry to oppose the plan.
- Analysts and some industry executives warn the shift could deter private capital and expose taxpayers to the high failure rate of exploration, while proponents say a royalty and equity model would deliver steadier near-term revenue than the current PRRT system.
- The proposal now feeds into near-term budget, Senate and fuel-security deliberations alongside Labor’s domestic gas reservation rules and Treasury modelling, meaning ministers will need to weigh investment risk against potential public returns.