Freshly minted Resources Minister Keith Pitt is off to an inauspicious start with speculation of a new tax on Australia’s oil and gas sector emerging just two days after his swearing-in.
The ink was barely dry on Keith Pitt’s commissioning certificate when the oil and gas sectors awoke this morning to the shock of this new proposal. The industry has been blind-sided by a dysfunctional and divided Morrison Government too focused on itself to consult properly.
Scott Morrison must explain how this new $1.4 billion tax on oil and gas exports would fit with his constant attempts to appear a champion for the resources sector.
At this stage, it seems like it's just another sign he is all marketing and no substance.
Good policy follows the development of the case for change and consultation with stakeholders.
Labor will always back good policy and would consider in a careful way any proposals put forward, but Scott Morrison doesn’t have a very good track record when it comes to good policy over mere advertising.
Scott Morrison and Keith Pitt must come clean quickly and declare what they have in mind for one of our key wealth-creating industries.