One Nation Drops Its Gas Reservation Plan — and Pitches Ownership Instead

One Nation abandoned its support for an east coast gas reservation policy in June, reversing a position it had tried to legislate only months earlier.

In March, leader Pauline Hanson moved a Senate motion backing a domestic gas reserve. She said it would lift gas supply and lower electricity prices directly. That same month the party introduced legislation to build strategic gas reserves, proposing that 15% of gas be reserved for domestic use, according to its Domestic Energy Bill One Nation.

By June, when it unveiled its gas plans, the party said that position had changed after consultation with industry and stakeholders. It argued the policy risked killing domestic Australian gas companies The Guardian.

The June policy statement put it plainly. One Nation said it had considered an east coast gas reservation policy, a rule that requires exporters to keep a set share for Australian buyers, but concluded after industry consultation that it fell short. It claimed the government's 20% reservation proposal would damage onshore oil and gas development. Senator Tyron Whitten told officials at Senate estimates in June that the party had heard from industry that the oversupply model would make onshore exploration and development almost impossible economically.

One Nation Victoria reflects the same line. It states it will not run a rigid reservation that damages local producers who mainly supply the domestic market. James Ashby serves as Hanson's chief of staff.

Instead of a reservation, One Nation's gas policy proposed that the Commonwealth would acquire a 30% equity stake in new gas ventures. An equity stake means direct part-ownership. The model would give Canberra an ownership interest in future developments, rather than directing a share of export volumes into the domestic market through a reservation mechanism.

Canberra is proceeding on the reservation track. The Albanese government announced it will establish a new east coast gas reservation policy requiring exporters to supply a portion of gas to the domestic market to put downward pressure on consumer prices. Public consultation on the Domestic Gas Reservation Scheme draft Design Framework ran from 25 May to 30 June 2026. The scheme will require energy giants to set aside gas for the domestic market starting in July 2027 ABC.

The parameters have shifted during design. On 10 September 2026, Australia relaxed a proposed rule that would have forced natural gas exporters to reserve 20% of their output Reuters. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission assessed that the east coast gas market is expected to be well supplied in late 2026 and early 2027, while warning more investment is needed to meet long term demand. The Coalition is considering supporting the government's proposal, while the Greens are pushing for a 25% gas export tax instead.

The broader context here is the overlap between the policy reversal and financial links to the gas industry. In April, One Nation received a new aircraft worth up to $2 million as a gift from Hancock Prospecting and $1 million in donations from two close associates of Gina Rinehart. Senex, a $900 million company 49% owned by Hancock Prospecting and 51% owned by South Korea's POSCO, opposed the gas reservation plan. Hanson and former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce stayed at Rinehart's $20 million mansion after One Nation fundraisers. In February, Hanson told Guardian senior correspondent Sarah Martin she was not being funded by Rinehart.

The shift has drawn responses from other politicians. Resources Minister Madeleine King said One Nation was hoping nobody would notice it had abandoned any form of gas reservation policy. Liberal shadow minister Andrew Hastie accused Hanson of being "Maga first" in June. The Guardian is examining the policy shift and the Rinehart relationship in a new podcast series on One Nation titled The Populist. Senior correspondent Sarah Martin used flight-tracking data and expense records to investigate financial support flowing from Rinehart to One Nation The Guardian. Episode one traces the inside story from the Farrer byelection to the National Press Club.

Looking at what this means for the reservation debate, the parliamentary arithmetic matters more than the rhetoric. Labor needs crossbench or opposition support to legislate its framework. A Coalition decision to back the scheme would marginalise One Nation's objection. A Coalition decision to withhold support would increase the leverage of minor parties, including One Nation and the Greens, despite their opposing prescriptions of equity participation, reservation, and export taxation. The ACCC's near term supply assessment and the September softening of the 20% requirement give all sides room to argue the design can be tightened or loosened without immediate shortfall. The test will be whether the July 2027 start date holds, and what reservation percentage or compliance mechanism survives final negotiations.