Why do we feel poor in Australia, one of the richest countries in the world?

"We've so cooked our tax system that in Australia, the third biggest fossil fuel exporter in the world, when the price of oil and gas and coal go up, we feel poor.

"Norway, which is also a big fossil fuel exporter, they tax their fossil fuel industry and give their kids free university education.

"In Australia, we subsidise the fossil fuel industry. We give more than half of the gas we export away for free, and we charge our kids a fortune to go to uni."

[Originally aired 14 April 2025]

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