David Pocock leaves door open to forming party of independents

Independent Senator David Pocock has left the door open to forming a party with other independents. (ABC News: Matt Roberts) (ABC News: Callum Flinn) Independent Senator David Pocock has left the door open to forming a party of independents to respond to the rise of One Nation. A Redbridge poll has suggested One Nation could win as many as 59 seats in the lower house, replacing the Coalition as the main opposition party. Senator Pocock says the government must find a way to fairly compensate taxpayers for investments made in emerging industries as well as gas. Link copiedShareShare articleSenator David Pocock has left the door open to forming a party of independents to respond to the rise of One Nation. The former Wallabies player, elected to parliament in 2022, said he was engaged in conversations about the future of Australia. "It's a big question," he told Insiders. "There's plenty of conversations happening all the time. "As to what that looks like in the future, who knows? Currently in the senate there is plenty to do, and that is my focus." A Redbridge poll published this weekend suggested One Nation could win as many as 59 seats in the lower house if an election was held today, becoming the main opposition party. The poll of more than 6,000 voters showed Pauline Hanson's party could wipe out the nationals and heavily deplete the Liberals, as well as flipping many Labor-held electorates. Senator Pocock said the rising popularity of the minor party, and of right wing politics, was a reflection of the public's dissatisfaction with major parties. "There is a lot of frustration and anger out there in the community that our political system is not working for Australians," he said. "There's this recognition that on so many of these big challenges we are facing, it's not necessarily left versus right, it's actually vested interests and their stranglehold on the major parties versus the Australian people." Last week, One Nation set out its plan to replace the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax on new gas projects with a flat royalty on production and allow the Commonwealth to buy equity stakes in future drilling projects. Senator Pocock said it was too late for the government to become a partner in new gas projects, arguing the focus must instead be on getting a fair return for taxpayers in the existing market. "That ship has probably sailed and we need to get a fair return going forward," he said. Senator Pocock was among a group of independents campaigning for a 25 per cent tax on gas profits, advocating for a Norwegian-style approach to resource taxation. Under that model, companies pay higher taxes in exchange for greater certainty and flexibility for exploration and expansion. However, the senator said his proposal would not involve approving new gas projects. "That's not what I'm not suggesting, no," he said. "I think we should have a 25 per cent export tax to get a return. We're in an energy crisis, these companies are making windfall profits and the government isn't even willing to put in a windfall tax." The government ruled out imposing a gas tax on existing contracts ahead of the federal budget. Senator Pocock said there was still an opportunity for the government to ensure Australians received a fair return from emerging industries. "That is the future where we are seeing these huge tech companies putting tens of billions of dollars of investment into Australia, at the same time minimising their tax share." But Senator Pocock said he did not have a "specific solution" to the question of government equity in AI and critical mineral projects. "But it is the principal of how do we get a fair return of resources that belong to the Australian people," he said. Shadow Housing Minister Andrew Bragg told Sky News the weekend's polling showed the Liberal party was being "punished" for being too similar to Labor in the last decade and said the answer was an "economic revolution". "We've had too much similarity with the Labor Party, we should have done more on tax, more on industrial relations, more on super, more on budget stuff and we've just been too similar to Labor over a long period of time," he said. Mr Bragg said the capital gains tax discount, scrapped by Labor in the federal budget in favour of a discount indexed to inflation, should be increased instead of cut. Opposition leader Angus Taylor has vowed to reverse the proposed changes if the Coalition wins government but has not suggested making the discount more generous. "I would increase it, I wouldn't reduce it," Senator Bragg said. "I would be looking to cut taxes. We should be looking to cut taxes." Copy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesSuspect dead after gunshots send White House into lockdown Topic:World Politics

David Pocock leaves door open to forming party of independents

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