STO - Brave new world, page-556

We are not being robbed in regards to Santos and tax.
Let me cover this very simply.

STO pays stuff all tax because it is investing in it's own business and trying to expand and also because it has ongoing committments to remediation etc.
It is a massively expensive a. skilled and risky industry to pick a spot, find gas, make it ecconoimically recoverable and even with technology it is still a massive gamble.

STO is not a foreign multinatiuonal and doesn't profit shift. STO employees still pay all their income tax. STO pays all state duties. STO pays all ongoing lease cosst .STO has ongoing exploration and research and development ( including CO2 sequestration - an enviro positive if it is effective and ecconomic) . STO is Australian based and isn't involves in any offshoring or profit moving.

Government mining it's own resource- as I have said STO I am sure would be happy to allow the govt to buy back any least at market rates and go set up infustructure if they think they have the skill base and do it more ecconomically than a commercial organisation like Santos . Go for it Govt has proven to be bad gamblers in this regard and stupid in selling down key infustructure like wires and poles or even deregulating energy retail sales. Then again we don't live in a communist state with nationialised assetts and that has some benefits.

Why is the govt broke- because tehy spend more than they earn and unlike in history inflation hasn't reduced that debt then because every election they give $ to squeaky wheels and interst groups to garner support and try and pick winners rather than just govern effeciently. There is a whole history of legacy policy so don't expect a quick turn around at any point.

Have I got teh answers- no . Do knee jerk reactions against current tax paying compliant aussie based companies likley to produce positives for Australia shorta nd long term- no it gets a headline and then politicians realise just how little they actually know about business and especially teh energy business
The average politician in Australaia IMO couldn't manage his own bank account let along run a large scale busness or a cornershop long term.

"Fair enough Teddy, but wouldn't we be better off getting rid of the middle man, mining our own gas and other resources and put the profits back into our national health/infrastructure/ education/ defence programs?
Instead we let foreign multinationals in to profit individuals by the selling off of our common wealth for bugger all.
The biggest fossil fuel corporations paid little to no tax last year.
We are being robbed.
We know Australia has all the wealth in the world under our feet and yet the government is broke."