The political capture of Australia by fossil fuels has been central in shaping our climate policies, reports Professor Christopher Wright.
FEATURE
Australia is one of the world’s largest exporters of coal and gas and has among the world’s highest per capita carbon emissions. As a leading ‘petrostate’ it is perhaps unsurprising that the fossil fuel sector has been central in shaping the nation’s energy and climate policies.
The political capture of Australia by the fossil fuel industries has prevented any meaningful attempt to move away from fossil energy. They have historically obstructed attempts to regulate and reduce carbon emissions through lobbying, networking and financial donations to parties in the political arena.
“Lobbying, networking and financial donations have been used to obstruct attempts to regulate and reduce carbon emissions”
The end game is to promote fossil energy to the public as essential to the past, present and future of Australian society; what can be termed a form of ‘carbon populism’. Unpicking this complex web of political influence is essential if meaningful decarbonisation is to be achieved.
“The end game is to promote fossil energy to the public as essential to the past, present and future of Australian society”
Shaping the political arena
The outsized political influence of the fossil fuel industries in Australia has a long history. As former political staffer Guy Pearse noted in his book High and Dry, the so-called ‘Greenhouse Mafia’ of corporate executives and lobbyists played a key role in the years of the Howard government (1996-2007) in shaping the rejection of climate and emissions regulation.
That defensive political activity continued in the campaigns against carbon pricing under the Rudd and Gillard Labor governments (2007-2013) and the following nine years of conservative rule. Indeed, under the current Albanese Labor government (2022-present) fossil fuel interests in gas and coal continue to have significant influence over energy and climate policy.
This influence has been achieved through various practices, such as lobbying, networking, and industry association representation. This has involved direct representations by corporate executives and paid lobbyists to senior government ministers and bureaucrats or more informal interactions in the halls of parliament.
Here, coal and gas representatives stress their role as creators of public value through employment, revenue for public coffers and broader economic growth.
“The outsized political influence of the fossil fuel industries in Australia has a long history”
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The use of fake “community group” fronts by fossil fuels, or “astroturfing”, is undermining democracy, say experts. Source: The Klaxon
Financial donations have further amplified political influence, with fossil fuel corporations donating close to $4 million to Australia’s major political parties during 2024-25 which included the last federal election.
The blurring divide between politics and the fossil fuel industry is particularly evident in the social embeddedness of industry representatives and executives within the political sphere. This involves personal and professional relationships.
A common theme here has been the concept of a ‘revolving door’ between industry and government. For example, several reports have listed the career trajectories of retiring politicians and bureaucrats as they move into senior industry and consulting roles, as well as industry representatives taking up political advisory appointments.
This inter-connectedness of industry and politics has included both major political parties, highlighting a strong capital-state nexus that is committed to the continued expansion of fossil energy resources.
This close ‘understanding’ between different levels of government and the fossil fuel sector is often explicitly highlighted in the public statements of politicians expressing their loyalty to the resources sector.
Here, politicians depict the industry as the backbone of the Australian success story and deserving of a seat at the table.
Examples have included: advocating for the appointment of a former resources minister to chair a peak mining industry association; the Federal Treasurer displaying a lump of coal in the parliament and declaring its national benefits; and a former Minister for Resources posting a heartfelt note of farewell to the Australian mining sector on Facebook.
“Examples have included the Federal Treasurer displaying a lump of coal in parliament”
As one interviewee in our research acknowledged: ‘Yes, there is a revolving door of consultants and management personnel between ministerial offices and industry groups, and companies. There always has been!’.
Then Coalition Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg hands then Coalition Social Services Minister Christian Porter a lump of coal in parliament in 2017. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Winning hearts and minds
More broadly, the fossil fuel industry has been central to the shaping of public attitudes and understandings of economic development and national identity.
For instance, as the CEO of coal giant Peabody Energy declared in promoting the continued expansion of the Australian coal industry: “Coal has transformed society over hundreds of years by fuelling industrial revolutions and digital economies. It’s the pride of Australia’s past, and the pride of its future.”
In its public relations, the industry has sought to bring together a range of discourses on how coal and gas underpins the collective welfare of Australia.
This has included arguments about the role of coal-fired power in providing cheap and reliable electricity, the economic contribution of export earnings and mining royalties, and employment and job creation.
For instance, many of the industry’s public statements have for years stressed the way in which fossil fuel extraction is one of the nation’s highest export earners and contributes to the collective good through mining royalties and tax revenue which contribute to the provision of essential government services.
Despite being highly capital intensive, coal mining has also been presented as a major source of employment, emphasising its role in regional development and as a key part of many communities.
This focus on local communities, job creation and regional development has been reinforced through the industry’s advertising and community programs, showcasing local conservation and sustainability programs, profiles of mine workers and their family lives, sponsorship of local sporting teams and schools and hospitals, Indigenous employment programs, and ‘education’ programs promoting the benefits of fossil fuel energy.
“These practices act as a form of inoculation PR”
As critics have noted, these practices act as a form of ‘inoculation PR’ aimed at defusing more negative perceptions of the industry and winning over the hearts and minds of local communities and the general public to the worthiness of fossil fuel extraction.
The magical thinking of a fossil-fuelled future
In a context of growing public concern over worsening climate change, the fossil fuel industry has sought to highlight its current benefits and also project an image of the future in which it continues to grow.
Despite the rapidly declining cost of renewable energy and growing global moves towards decarbonisation, the coal and gas industries and aligned politicians have sought to promote a ‘fossil fuels forever’ imaginary.
“The coal and gas industries and aligned politicians have sought to promote a ‘fossil fuels forever’ imaginary”
This has involved asserting the central role of coal and gas in the economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as technological innovation and the need for energy security.
Examples have included the framing of Australia’s export gas industry as a ‘transition fuel’ in contributing to global emissions reductions, as well as the coal industry’s on-going promotion of so-called ‘clean coal’ via phantom technologies such as carbon capture and storage.
“Phantom technologies such as carbon capture and storage are used to create an imaginary future where fossil fuels continue to grow”
In response, state and federal politicians have continued to talk up the future of fossil energy, and new coal and gas projects continue to be green-lit.
Despite decades of political debate over climate and energy policy, Australia’s role as a major fossil energy producer remains unchanged.
As current and future generations watch a world unravelling under the weight of ever worsening climate disruption, the legacy of the fossil-fuel industry’s outsized influence on the failure to decarbonise weighs heavily.
Christopher Wright is Professor of Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School. His most recent book Organising Responses to Climate Change: The Politics of Mitigation, Adaptation and Suffering (2023) is published by Cambridge University Press.
This article is first published by The Klaxon and 360info.org
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