May 23, 2026 – 5.00amShane Johnson must have known it was a set-up. Senator David Pocock had asked him to confirm that the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax yielded less revenue than the tax on beer.Johnson, a deputy secretary in Treasury’s macroeconomics division, said he’d “have a look”. He flipped back and forth through the budget papers, he read out the year they referred to, before confirming that yes, beer yielded more than gas. Pocock, with an air of frustration, asked him how this could be? Johnson was silent. Pocock had the interaction cut up and blared out on his social media accounts. From there, the algorithm did its work.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Myriam RobinSenior writerMyriam Robin is a senior writer based in the Melbourne newsroom. She has previously been a Rear Window columnist and editor, and before that reported on financial markets and media.Ryan CroppEnergy and climate reporterRyan Cropp is an energy and climate reporter at The Australian Financial Review based in the Canberra bureau.Fetching latest articles