The question of a gas export tax brought a lot of voices to parliament yesterday - but one in particular stood out for his fiery stand on behalf of "punters".
Former teacher Konrad Benjamin, who founded the "Punter's Politics" podcast, was among those who spoke before the Senate Select Committee on Taxation of Gas Resources yesterday, and the popular online politics analyst quickly went viral for it.
Benjamin opened with a quip that speaking before a room full of politicians would normally cost "$3000 a head" before letting loose with both barrels.
"We're here today to discuss the need for Australians to receive what we are owed for our natural resources that belong to us," he said in a statement that ultimately accused the government of falling victim to gas industry lobbyists.
"We were told that we, regular punters like me, 'oh, don't worry about it'," he said.
"We millions of regular Aussies are now paying attention, and we understand a few things that we might not have understood before.
"We understand that Australia's gas is very valuable. We understand that we're giving most if away for free to foreign corporations.
"We understand that the same foreign corporations pay close to bugger-all tax.
"We understand that a stable democracy like ours, with lots of valuable natural resources, gives us a lot of leverage.
Benjamin said the fact Australian gas is sold to nations overseas, who make their own profit on top of it, means regular Aussies are being "sold out".
"This doesn't just not pass the pub test - this is outrageous," he said.
"We've been sold out, because we shouldn't have issues with what we can afford. We should be looking at how we can invest in future businesses, how we can supply basic medical and dental to anyone who wants it."
"So the question we punters have is, how is it that we are holding all of the cards, yet still losing?"
He pointed out that Norway, which does tax its gas exports, had assembled a $3 trillion sovereign wealth fund for its citizens.
"Punters Politics, honestly, shouldn't exist. I shouldn't really be here," Benjamin said.
"A million Australians following my content online, watching somebody explain gas, isn't a success story. It's a symptom of a government that has stopped working for the punters that elected them."
He urged the government to think of people struggling to pay their bills while MPs and senators heard from gas corporation executives.
"There are nurses living in cars, teachers buying lunch for kids who can't afford it, tradies who skip meals so they can feed their family," he said.
"We still pay our tax, and we don't get our gas for free."
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