SUNDAY - How Aussie gas is making a Japanese company richer 🇯🇵

**Ben Fordham** (0:01)
You're listening to the Ben Fordham Podcast. And now, Ben Fordham Comments.
It's not just the cost of fuel that is rising. Gas prices around the world have gone through the roof. Countries across Asia are scrambling, trying to outbid each other just to secure enough gas to keep the power running. Now a big reason for this is the chunk of global supply that's been knocked out because of the war in the Middle East. So, there's not as much gas available. And everyone is chasing what is left. And here's where Australia comes in. When there is less gas, buyers start looking for countries that can still deliver. And Australia is one of the biggest gas exporters in the world. We are stable. We're not affected by the conflict. And our gas is still flowing out of places like Darwin and Western Australia. So right now more than ever, Aussie gas is incredibly valuable. Others want what we've got. And we know the way markets work. When prices spike, that normally means a win. The kind of moment where a country makes a lot from its resources. But instead Australia gets shortchanged. The clearest example is Inpex, a company we've highlighted before. Inpex is a Japanese gas giant. It runs a massive project out of Darwin. Over the last 11 years, it's made more than $36 billion in revenue in Australia. $36 billion. But how much tax has it paid? Less than $500 million. That's about 1.4%. Most Australians are paying something like 20% to 30% in tax. So you've got a foreign company paying hardly any tax on Aussie gas that they export overseas. And it gets worse because Inpex didn't pay any petroleum resource rent tax. Zero. And they don't expect to pay any until 2027 In 2023, Inpex had a good year. They made over $9 billion here in Australia. They only paid $6.7 million in tax. That's just 0.07% of revenue. And remember, all the gas is going overseas. We don't see the benefit in Australia. It's put on ships and burnt in Asia. So right now, Australian gas is helping keep other countries powered while Australians are paying higher bills at home. By the way, other countries don't do this. Qatar turned gas into a sovereign wealth fund worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Norway brings in over $100 billion a year from oil and gas. Australia? Well, we dig it up, we ship it out, and we let someone else laugh all the way to the bank.
And meanwhile, here in Australia, the gas prices have tripled since 2015 Household bills have jumped more than 50% in two years. So Australians are paying more for Aussie gas, while a Japanese gas giant is able to exploit the living daylights out of it. We're being dutted.