Australia’s energy and mining companies have ramped up their spending on lobbying and advertising campaigns, capitalising on a record year of profits for the sector, a new report has found.
The increase in lobbying coincides with increased activity and government intervention in Australia’s fossil fuel policy and gas supply, driven by prices rises fuelled by the ongoing war in Ukraine. The leading industry body for oil and gas companies, Australian Energy Producers – which rebranded last week from Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association – rolled out a public PR push in 2023.
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association’s advertising campaign was deemed to have breached the industry environmental advertising code. “Supporting the transition away from coal, backing up renewables in electricity, enabling net-zero technologies such as low-carbon hydrogen production and carbon capture and storage and supporting emissions reductions in industries including the processing of the critical minerals needed for net-zero.”The Australian Energy Producers and the Australian Minerals Council were contacted about their increased use of lobbyists, but neither body responded before publication.