Gas giants’ $11.2m ad blitz before government killed off windfall profit tax idea

The energy industry flooded Australia with advertising arguing against a 25 per cent tax on oil and gas exports, increasing its media expenditure by half compared to a year before, as the proposed policy gained a groundswell of support in the early months of 2026.

The main lobby group for resource companies rolled out a new campaign this year as surging fuel prices caused by the Iran war and the rising cost of living led to support for a new tax on gas exports, which was ultimately rejected by the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Albanese declared at the time that his top priority amid the global fuel crisis was boosting supplies of petrol and diesel, which come from many of the countries that receive Australia’s gas.

The industry, led by gas lobby Australian Energy Producers which represents the likes of Shell and BHP, spent 48 per cent more on advertising between January and March compared to the same period in 2025.

That spending paid for a campaign touting the contributions the industry already makes to Australia’s economy and the tax it already pays.

This increase represented an $11.2 million advertising blitz, according to figures provided by Guideline SMI, which was even more stark considering the backdrop of an ad market declining overall. Australia’s total ad market shrank by 5 per cent in March alone.

The jump in ad spend, which does not include spending from utilities companies, continued into April, though full figures for the month are not yet available.

A 25 per cent tax on gas giants’ windfall profits has become a populist policy this year, particularly as cost-of-living strains have intensified and the price of fuel has skyrocketed since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February.

Australian Energy Producers rolled out its ‘Australia runs on natural gas’ campaign in response in early 2026, arguing the sector contributed $21.9 billion in taxes and royalties in 2024-25 as well as underpinning Australia’s energy security.

Those statistics have since been disputed by independent senator David Pocock, who has led the push for changes to the existing Petroleum Resource Rent Tax alongside influencer Konrad Benjamin, better known as Punters Politics.

Shell has said adopting the policy would destabilise trade ties with Asian partners and make it more difficult for the government to secure deliveries of petrol, diesel and jet fuel, this masthead reported.

Albanese said last month that it was the “worst possible time” to risk Australia’s relationship with gas investors in Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. Those countries are some of Australia’s biggest refined fuel suppliers. Australia imports about 90 per cent of its petrol and diesel.

“Our gas exports are directly linked to our national fuel security,” Albanese said. He did not impose a windfall tax in last week’s budget, which according to costings from the left wing Australia Institute would have delivered an additional $17.1 billion in tax revenue in the 2023-24 financial year. This month, he dismissed the proposed policy as a “slogan”.

Part of the campaign led by Pocock and others has contrasted federal taxes on gas exports against the excise on beer, which totals around $2.7 billion. The government expects to receive about $1.5 billion in PRRT tax this financial year.

Australia’s gas exporters stand to benefit from major revenue growth in coming months from exports to Asia, which could help increase the $65 billion in revenue from shipping LNG overseas in the 2025 calendar year. Pocock and Australian Energy Producers were contacted for comment.

The Albanese government has moved to introduce a gas reservation scheme in eastern Australia from July next year. It requires liquefied natural gas exporters to keep up to 20 per cent of their overseas shipments for local consumers.

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