From the Guardian · · 1m 50s
One Nation's gas backflip and the Rinehart question
Pauline Hanson backed a domestic gas reserve in March. By June it was gone, and her party's biggest donor had a stake in that.
In brief
Pauline Hanson backed a domestic gas reserve in March. By June it was gone, and her party's biggest donor had a stake in that. One Nation dropped a policy it championed months earlier, right after a gifted jet and $1m in donations tied to a billionaire whose company opposes the policy. Originally reported by the…
A quiet policy reversal
One Nation shelved its support for a domestic gas reservation policy and replaced it with one that suits the party's billionaire patron, Gina Rinehart.
What Labor is proposing
The Albanese government wants east coast gas exporters to set aside a share of their output for the domestic market, aiming to push consumer prices down.
“modestly supplying the domestic market”
Hanson was for it in March
She moved a Senate motion backing a domestic gas reserve just six months ago, arguing it would lift supply and cut power bills.
“increase the supply of gas and lower the price of electricity directly”
Who opposes the plan
Senex, a $900m company 49% owned by Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting and 51% by Korea's POSCO, has fought the reservation policy hard.
The June switch
One Nation dumped the policy after what it called consultation with industry and stakeholders, saying a reserve would hurt onshore oil and gas development.
“The government's 20% reservation policy will damage onshore development of oil and gas projects.”
A jet and a million dollars
In April the party was gifted an aircraft worth up to $2m from Hancock Prospecting, plus $1m in donations from two of Rinehart's close associates.
Rivals call it a backflip
Resources minister Madeleine King said the party hoped nobody would notice. Coalition MP Garth Hamilton said the change served donors, not voters.
“This policy backflip must be for the benefit of her donors, because it is not for the benefit of the Australian people”
Questions in the Senate
One Nation's Tyron Whitten pressed officials on the policy using industry arguments. Greens senator Steph Hodgins-May said he was asking on Senex's behalf, which he denied.
“I can't be asking questions on behalf of Gina Rinehart. I've never met the lady.”
Here's the gist
One Nation dropped a policy it championed months earlier, right after a gifted jet and $1m in donations tied to a billionaire whose company opposes the policy.
