Outspoken Labor MP Ed Husic broke ranks with the government on the first day of Labor’s 50th party conference to support a gas export tax, endorse Indigenous truth-telling and press for more criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. The former industry minister warned that the party’s tightly controlled unity could backfire, telling ABC’s Afternoon Briefing: “This whole thing of being allergic to dissent [and] dispute, I don’t think that actually works in our long-term interests as a party.”
Albanese Frames Unity as Strength
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese opened the conference by framing the party’s unity as a point of difference to political opponents, stating: “We choose progress over protest. We choose purpose over chaos. We choose unity over division.” However, Husic’s comments underscored internal tensions as factional powerbrokers negotiated behind the scenes to avert contested debates on the conference floor.
Fuel Subsidies and Mining Tax Debate
The government received approval from party members and MPs to wind back fuel subsidies for big miners, setting up a potential fight with resources giants. The Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) secured support to amend the policy platform to remove tax “disincentives” to an “orderly” energy transition. The group pushed to cap the diesel fuel tax credit for mining companies, which they view as an expensive handbrake to decarbonisation. More than 350 Labor branches, unions, climate campaigners and mining billionaire Andrew Forrest backed reforms to the scheme, which refunds miners, farmers and other industries the 52.6c a litre excise applied to petrol and diesel.
Treasury has forecast the scheme would cost the budget $47bn over the next four years, rising from $10.7bn in 2026-27 to $12.8bn in 2029-2030. More than $1bn a year goes to coalmine operators. Federal Labor MPs Jerome Laxale, Sally Sitou and Ged Kearney backed Lean’s amendment on the conference floor, demonstrating a level of support in Albanese’s caucus. Laxale told the conference: “Our job is not done. There are new policies that we need to reach our goals and targets. There are also tough decisions to be made to reform existing disincentives to decarbonisation.”
Gas Export Tax and Cabinet Divisions
Conference delegates also rubber-stamped an amendment to secure a “fairer return” from natural resources, widely interpreted as setting an expectation for cabinet to eventually move to raise taxes on gas exports. Albanese rejected that interpretation in an ABC radio interview ahead of the conference, ruling out any changes in the short term as the government focuses on shoring up fuel supplies amid the Middle East conflict. The government also believes its plan to force gas producers to reserve 20% of exports for domestic users will effectively act as a tax.
Husic challenged the government to show it has “steel in its spine” by adopting a gas export tax, which he said had widespread support in the community. “Labor has a chance to be able to show, particularly to the broader public, that it’s got what it takes, that it’s got the steel in the spine to be able to make a call that’s really in the nation’s long-term interest,” Husic said at a press conference on the sidelines of the Adelaide conference. “A lot of Australians reckon we’ve been ripped off. Labor can stand up, seize this moment, seize the money [and] also seize the agenda long-term.”
Any move to wind back the tax credits would face fierce resistance from mining companies and their peak bodies, in particular the Minerals Council of Australia, which last month launched an industry campaign to protect access to the rebates. It could also split Albanese’s cabinet, with the resources minister, Madeleine King, a public defender of the scheme.
