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The oil and gas industry loves to tell everyone they pay a lot of tax, but the evidence tells a very different story.

The oil and gas industry claim their tax pays for nurses and other public sector services, but new Australia Institute research shows that nurses pay more in income tax than the oil and gas industry pay in company tax and Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT).

Over the last 10 years, Australia’s nurses have paid $52 billion, or an average of $5.2 billion per year, in tax.

By contrast, the oil and gas industry, who can’t stop talking about how much tax they pay, has paid $45 billion or on average $4.5 billion per year.

It’s worth noting that almost all of the oil and gas industry’s payments have occurred in the last two years, since Russia invaded Ukraine and pushed energy prices to record levels.

While official ATO figures haven’t been released yet, the oil and gas lobby group Australian Energy Producers claims that its members paid $11.1 billion in 2022-23 and $13.9 billion in 2023-24. These lobby group figures are included in the above chart. If assessing the average annual tax payment of the oil and gas industry based on only ATO figures, that exclude the Russia war-linked windfalls, then the average is $2.8 billion per year over the ten years to 2020-21.

This interview is also available on podcast platforms and Rumble.

The American corporate coup d'état is almost complete as the first weeks of the Trump administration exemplify. If there has been one person who saw this coming, and has taken courageous action over the years to prevent it, it would be Ralph Nader. The former presidential candidate, consumer advocate and corporate critic joins host Chris Hedges on this episode of The Chris Hedges Report to chronicle his life’s work battling the corporate takeover of the country and how Americans can still fight back today despite the growing repression from the White House.

“The sign of a decaying democracy is that when the forces of plutocracy, oligarchy, multinational corporations increase their power, in all sectors of our society, the resistance gets weaker,” Nader tells Hedges.

The Wrap with Amy Remeikis

Well, those two weeks were quite the month, weren’t they?

The headlines could cause whiplash; from a focus on the alternative prime minister’s past, to election date scuttle, to Chinese military vessels niggling boundaries, to Donald Trump making it clear to the people in the back where his America stands, it’s easy to see how quickly news fatigue can set in.

Trump, who is doing exactly as intended, is following the well-worn path his once most trusted advisor described as ‘flooding the zone with shit’, which is a strategy that boils down to hacking the media’s inability to focus when there are so many shiny headlines around.

The leopards didn’t just tell people they would eat faces, they explained how they would do it. But we have a habit in modern democracies of prescribing good faith to people running in positions we have been taught to respect.  Sure, Trump is enabling an unelected foreign billionaire to rampage through the country, and by association, the world, slashing foreign aid, backing in the far right, lie about allied leaders and abandoning the principles of democracy, but did you hear he’s bringing back plastic straws?

What do a windswept town on the plains of North Dakota and a sandy beach hamlet in Florida have in common? Aside from the fact they’re both in the U.S., they only require students to show proof of identification, residency, and an up-to-date vaccine card to enter their schools. With the exception of some states that allow for vaccination waivers, this policy has led to an unprecedented number of illegal migrant children gaining admittance to public schools across the country.

Though statistics on these demographic movements have been difficult to find, what is available suggests that the number of children of illegal immigrants attending publicly funded schools is staggering. The situation is becoming clearer with an uptick in deportation, and the Trump Administration’s stemming the tide of illegal entries into the U.S. The strain on public resources has been intensely felt—and in many school districts, the strain has become downright catastrophic.

Jacob Conway, Natalia Fischl-Lanzoni, and Matthew Plosser

The American Mind’s ‘Editorial Roundtable’ podcast is a weekly conversation with Ryan Williams, Spencer Klavan, and Mike Sabo devoted to uncovering the ideas and principles that drive American political life. Stream here or download from your favorite podcast host.

Trump’s Cards | The Roundtable Ep. 257

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor discuss the end of Australia’s per capita recession, why the humble chickpea deserves some of the credit, and why DOGE is looking like a disaster for the American economy.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 6 March 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Order What’s the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @grogsgamut

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

‘The Reserve Bank should be looking at these numbers and wondering why it waited until February to act’ by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (March 2025)

Introduction

Protest is powerful! This guide connects you with resources about the impact of protest, how to organise protests, making protest strategic, and protecting the rights and safety of protesters.

I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept. – Angela Davis

Before you jump in we’d like to remind you that protest can take many forms. Gene Sharp defined 198 Methods of Noviolent Action and there are many more. All kinds of people engage in protest, for all sorts of reasons. Protests can channel outrage and anger as well as grief, compassion, solidarity, humour and more.

Protests are important for the messages they send to powerholders, but also for the connections between the people taking action. Feeling part of something bigger than ourselves, instead of being isolated individuals, can be empowering and life changing.

The American Mind’s ‘Editorial Roundtable’ podcast is a weekly conversation with Ryan Williams, Spencer Klavan, and Mike Sabo devoted to uncovering the ideas and principles that drive American political life. Stream here or download from your favorite podcast host.

Cell Phones in Schools | Cincinnatus Series Ep. 5