Back in February, an otherwise dry senate hearing took an unexpected turn when a flustered treasury official confirmed a little known fact: Australia gets more tax from beer than gas exports.
"How do we live in a country, one of the biggest gas exporters in the world, and we're getting more tax from beer?" independent Senator David Pocock asked in a moment that has since received almost 10 million views on Instagram.
The viral video gave fresh fuel to a campaign for Australia to introduce a 25% tax on gas exports, which has sparked a counter-campaign from energy companies strongly opposed to the tax.
Despite the campaign's popularity with voters, the prime minister has ruled it out.
However, as the country grapples with soaring cost-of-living and domestic gas prices amid a fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran, the subject is unlikely to go away - and is dominating headlines ahead of next week's federal budget.
