Domestic Gas Reservation Bill 2026

Milton Dick

In accordance with the resolution agreed to on 27 October 2026, the House will now consider the bill in detail as a whole. The question now is that the amendments circulated by the member for Ryan be agreed to.

Australian Greens' circulated amendments—

(1) Clause 15, page 22 (after line 24), after the heading "Other obligations", insert:

Licence holders (as well as persons that have, within the previous 12 months, applied for a licence or for renewal of a licence) are prohibited from making certain kinds of political donations. One purpose of these prohibitions is to prevent the making of donations that might influence the exercise of discretions by Ministers under this Act.

(This Part imposes these obligations relating to political donations by applying certain provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to licence holders and to persons that have applied for a grant or renewal of a licence within the previous 12 months.)

(2) Clause 15, page 22 (line 25), omit "A licence holder must comply with other obligations", substitute "A licence holder must also comply with certain other obligations".

(3) Page 59 (after line 17), after Division 3, insert:

Division 3A — Political donations

40A Covered gas entities must not make political donations to members of Parliament etc.

(1) In addition to the way that the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 applies apart from this section, that Act also applies as if a reference in that Act to a foreign donor included a reference to a covered gas entity.

Note: Among other things, a foreign donor commits an offence, and is liable to a civil penalty, under Part XX of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 if the foreign donor makes a gift to certain persons (including a member of the House of Representatives or a Senator) for certain purposes (see section 302F of that Act).

(2) For the purposes of applying the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 in accordance with subsection (1) of this section, a covered gas entity is a person that:

(a) is a licence holder for the purposes of this Act; or

(b) in relation to a provision of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 that applies in relation to a gift made by, or on behalf of, a foreign donor—has, within the period of 12 months ending on the day on which the gift is made:

(i) applied under subsection 46(1) of this Act for an export licence; or

(ii) applied under subsection 52(1) of this Act for a renewal of an export licence.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b) of this section, it does not matter what the outcome is of the application mentioned in subparagraph (2)(b)(i) or (ii).

(4) Clause 18, page 25 (line 5), omit "subsection (2), (3) or (4)", substitute "subsection (2) or (3)".

(5) Clause 18, page 26 (lines 24 to 26), omit subclause (4).

(6) Heading to subclause 19(5), page 28 (line 19), omit "Rules or gas market code", substitute "Gas market code".

(7) Clause 19, page 28 (lines 20 to 26), omit subclause (5) (not including the heading).

(8) Clause 19, page 28 (lines 27 to 29), omit subclause (6).

Elizabeth Watson-Brown

My amendments deal with some serious flaws in this bill. By setting up extensive new ministerial powers, including the power to exempt individual gas companies from regulations, this bill creates fertile ground for favours. Some would call it corruptibility. It would build a favour factory between gas companies and resource ministers: 'A few hundred thousand dollars in donations? Thank you very much. We'll put a carve-out in the regulation for you.' Specifically, this bill allows the minister to exempt gas corporations from the proposed domestic supply obligation. The entire purpose of this bill is to increase domestic gas supply, yet it gives the minister the power to exempt any company they like. We know that the gas companies are very generous donors to both sides of politics—and One Nation, too. They have covered all their bases, hedged their bets. This set-up means it doesn't matter if the government changes; decisions will always be made in the gas corporations' favour.

To dismantle this favour factory between the gas industry and political parties, my amendments prevent all political donations by the gas exporters regulated by this gas reserve legislation. My amendments also remove the open-ended ministerial discretion to create any circumstances in which a gas company meets its obligations to supply gas. We're deeply worried about this, because the minister can say to Santos, for example, 'If you promise to build a pipeline to open up Beetaloo Basin and release its 27 billion tonnes of emissions, we'll give you an exemption from the scheme for a few years.' In short, these powers, as they exist, can be used to encourage new gas development and create an incentive to open up new fields, even if they aren't economic.

Madeleine King

I thank the member for Ryan for her amendment and engagement with the Domestic Gas Reservation Bill 2026. I reject entirely the implication around corruptibility or other things she has put onto the record. The bill that is before parliament today is a landmark economic reform in the form of a domestic gas reservation. The simple matter is that this bill is about getting more Australian gas to Australian consumers and Australian industries. This is not a bill in regard to electoral reform or donations. That is an important matter, and it warrants careful consideration and proper scrutiny. Agreeing to these amendments would bypass the consultation, analysis and scrutiny that good lawmaking requires. Labor has had a position for years, and the government has followed that, that we do need to stop the influence of big money in politics and improve transparency across the system. With the help of the parliament, this was achieved through the passage of the legislation at the end of the last term.

Milton Dick

The question is that the amendments moved by the honourable member for Ryan be agreed to.