Greens promise $1000 tax cut for workers, funded by new taxes on resource profits

Shoebridge's first National Press Club address maps a $22 billion package; independent costing puts the decade price tag at $234.6 billion

By LineZotpaper AI staff

Published27 October 2026

Read Time3 min

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New Greens leader David Shoebridge will use his first address to the National Press Club to promise a $1000-a-year tax cut for almost every working person and a $1000 boost to welfare payments, funded by new taxes on the "windfall profits" of gas and mining companies.

The costed policy, to be released on Wednesday, would raise the tax-free threshold from $18,200 to $26,000, the first change to the threshold since 2012-13, and lift payments including the age pension, carers and JobSeeker by $1000.

The package is worth $22 billion a year, with Shoebridge arguing it would not add to the inflation pressures expected to prompt the Reserve Bank to lift official interest rates to their highest level since 2008 at its meeting next week. He will say the richest "1 per cent and their spinners" want people to ignore the key driver of inflation, "the surge in corporate profits flooding" the economy.

"Putting $1000 in people's pockets only adds to inflation if we don't also do something about corporate profiteering. So we'll take the heat out of the economy by trimming those corporate profits and sharing them with everyone," he will argue. "We'll tackle the cost of living by ending this raw deal on our resources and handing the money back to the people who need it. This is how government is meant to work."

An independent costing by the Parliamentary Budget Office found the policy would cost $65.1 billion over four years and $234.6 billion over the next decade, and would add $57.7 billion to the interest bill on government debt by the mid-2030s.

To pay for the package, the Greens propose a 25 per cent gas export tax, a proposal the federal government rejected before this year's budget, which would raise $17 billion a year, and an overhaul of resource rent taxes based on a proposal from the left-wing think tank Prosper, which could raise a further $28 billion a year.

The resources sector has pushed back against higher taxation, arguing it will kill new projects and hurt job opportunities in regional areas. The government instead adopted a gas reservation policy. Shoebridge said changes to coal royalties in Queensland since 2022 had not scared off businesses and had raised extra revenue for the state budget.

The Greens' plan is larger than the government's tax changes, which cut the bottom tax rate to 14 per cent and create the $250 "working age tax offset" from July 1, and is worth more in the short term than the Coalition's plan to index tax thresholds from 2028-29. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said this week the government was looking at further tax cuts, depending on the state of the budget.

The announcement seeks to shift the debate after weeks of questions over the party's governance and culture, following The Age's report that Shoebridge received a letter from seven active Greens members demanding an independent investigation into allegations that Senator Steele-John made inappropriate comments to women. Shoebridge has ordered an inquiry and Steele-John is on personal leave, missing this week's Senate estimates hearings.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

The proposal would be the first change to the tax-free threshold since 2012-13 and is larger than the tax plans offered by either the government or the Coalition.
The Greens argue the $22 billion package would not add to inflation because it is funded by taxes on corporate profits, a claim that will be tested when the Reserve Bank meets next week.
The Parliamentary Budget Office's costings show a substantial fiscal footprint: $234.6 billion over a decade and $57.7 billion in extra interest costs by the mid-2030s.

Background

The Greens are an Australian political party represented in federal parliament. David Shoebridge became leader in September, and the National Press Club address is his first since taking over. The speech is an attempt to move the public debate to cost-of-living and tax policy after weeks of questions about the party's governance and culture, which followed reports that Shoebridge had received a letter from seven active members demanding an inquiry into allegations against WA senator Jordan Steele-John.

Key Perspectives

Greens leader David Shoebridge: says the package will not add to inflation because it is matched by taxes on "corporate profiteering", and argues Australians who own the resources should get a fair share of the "windfall profits".

The resources sector: says higher taxes will kill new projects and hurt job opportunities in regional areas.

The federal government: rejected the proposed gas export tax before this year's budget and adopted a gas reservation policy; Treasurer Jim Chalmers says further tax cuts depend on the state of the budget.

The Coalition: has proposed indexing tax thresholds, with the bottom two thresholds indexed from 2028-29 and all thresholds from 2031.

What to Watch

The Reserve Bank's interest rate decision next week, and whether the Greens' contention that the package is not inflationary survives the debate around it.
The progress of the independent inquiry into the allegations against Senator Steele-John, and whether it continues to overshadow the party's policy agenda.
Whether the government expands its own tax cut plans; Chalmers said this week that further cuts would depend on the budget.

Sources

Greens promise tax cuts for all - but not the resource sector · The Age
Greens promise tax cuts for all - but not the resource sector · The Sydney Morning Herald

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedThe Greens’ $1000 tax cut for workers would be funded by new taxes on resource profits.The Age - Latest News: “a $1000 tax cut to almost every working person while boosting support to welfare recipients. In his first address to the National Press Club since becoming leader in September, Shoebridge will release a costed policy that would be paid for by new taxes on the “windfall profits” of gas and mining companies”
SupportedThe independent costing puts the policy’s cost over the next decade at $234.6 billion.The Age - Latest News: “the policy would cost $65.1 billion over the next 4 years and a combined $234.6 billion over the next decade.”
SupportedShoebridge will promise a $1000-a-year tax cut for almost every working person and a $1000 boost to specified welfare payments.The Age - Latest News: “the threshold increase would deliver a tax cut of about $1000 for almost all workers. The Greens would also lift by $1000 welfare payments including the age pension, carers and those on JobSeeker.”
SupportedShoebridge will say the richest “1 per cent and their spinners” want people to ignore inflation’s key driver, “the surge in corporate profits flooding” the economy.The Age - Latest News: “He will say the richest “1 per cent and their spinners” want people to ignore the key driver of inflation which is “the surge in corporate profits flooding” the economy.”
SupportedShoebridge will argue: “Putting $1000 in people’s pockets only adds to inflation if we don’t also do something about corporate profiteering. So we’ll take the heat out of the economy by trimming those corporate profits and sharing them with everyone.”The Age - Latest News: ““Putting $1000 in people’s pockets only adds to inflation if we don’t also do something about corporate profiteering. So we’ll take the heat out of the economy by trimming those corporate profits and sharing them with everyone,” he will argue.”
SupportedShoebridge will argue: “We’ll tackle the cost of living by ending this raw deal on our resources and handing the money back to the people who need it. This is how government is meant to work.”The Age - Latest News: ““We’ll tackle the cost of living by ending this raw deal on our resources and handing the money back to the people who need it. This is how government is meant to work.””
SupportedThe policy would cost $65.1 billion over four years.The Age - Latest News: “the policy would cost $65.1 billion over the next 4 years”
SupportedThe policy would add $57.7 billion to the interest bill on government debt by the mid-2030s.The Age - Latest News: “It would also add $57.7 billion to the interest bill on total government debt by the mid-2030s.”
SupportedThe proposed 25 per cent gas export tax could raise $17 billion a year.The Age - Latest News: “a 25 per cent gas export tax – a proposal rejected by the federal government in the run-up to this year’s budget – would raise $17 billion a year.”
SupportedThe proposed resource-rent-tax overhaul could raise a further $28 billion a year.The Age - Latest News: “An extra $28 billion a year could be raised by adopting a proposal from Prosper, the left-wing think tank, for an overhaul of resource rent taxes.”
Partly supportedThe government’s tax changes cut the bottom tax rate to 14 per cent.The Age - Latest News: “the government, which is reducing the bottom tax rate to 14 per cent by the middle of next year”
Partly supportedThe Coalition plans to index tax thresholds from 2028-29.The Age - Latest News: “the Coalition’s plan to index the bottom two tax thresholds in line with inflation from 2028-29 and then all thresholds from 2031.”