Energy companies will pay more under budget changes that could also secure company tax win

Oil and gas giants will be forced to pay billions more in tax under changes to the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax that could also deliver the Turnbull government a shock victory on its stalled company tax cuts.

Treasurer Scott Morrison ordered a review into the system in 2016.

It is understood next month's budget will tackle longstanding concerns about the way energy companies are taxed by curbing "uplift concessions", which determine tax deductions associated with exploration and construction. But in a concession expected to win industry support, the changes will exempt existing projects.

Read Eryk Bagshaw’s story from The Age - “Energy companies will pay more under budget changes that could also secure company tax win.”

New Zealand bans all new offshore oil exploration as part of 'carbon-neutral future’

The New Zealand government will grant no new offshore oil exploration permits in a move that is being hailed by conservation and environmental groups as a historic victory in the battle against climate change.

 New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern
looks to the future with oil exploration ban. 

The ban will apply to new permits and won’t affect the existing 22, some of which have decades left on their exploration rights and cover an area of 100,000 sq km.

The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said her government “has a plan to transition towards a carbon-neutral future, one that looks 30 years in advance”.

Read Eleanor Ainge Roy’s story from The Guardian - “New Zealand bans all new offshore oil exploration as part of 'carbon-neutral future’.”

State Labor premiers savage Malcolm Turnbull's energy policy, setting up a COAG brawl

The Turnbull government faces an uphill battle getting states to sign up to its new energy plan, as Labor premiers savage it as a capitulation to Tony Abbott and victory for the coal industry.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with premiers and chief ministers in Canberra.

The government will need all the national electricity market states – NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT – to agree to its national energy guarantee to implement it.

The plan to force energy companies to meet mandated standards of reliability and emissions reduction will require changes to national electricity law, which is state-based legislation that sets the rules for the market.

Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg briefed his state counterparts on the policy over the phone on Tuesday ahead of a face-to-face COAG meeting planned for late November. But initial reactions were not positive. 

Read the story by Noel Towell and Adam Gartrell in today’s Melbourne Age - “State Labor premiers savage Malcolm Turnbull's energy policy, setting up a COAG brawl.”