Australia’s gas industry is playing a substantive role in supporting the economy, while environmental groups have called to cut gas altogether in favour of solar and wind energy. A report by the Australian Economic Advocacy Solutions commissioned by the oil and gas coalition, the Australian Gas Industry Trust, outlined that by June 2021, the industry paid $18.2 billion in taxes and royalties to local, state, and federal governments. Gas companies directly employed more than 165,000 Australians, with $14.9 billion paid in wages to workers who earned on average $90,200 a year—considerably more than the Australia-wide average pay of $67,902. The report also estimated that gas supported an additional 95,000 indirect jobs and nearly 24,000 contractors across all states, bringing the total figure to one in 46 working Australians being supported by the sector in some way. “The Australian Gas Industry Supply Chain is of major importance to the Australian economy …