Australia’s gas industry has launched a multimillion-dollar advertising blitz to stave off the introduction of a 25 per cent levy on export revenues, a move the federal industry minister, Ed Husic, has condemned as “defending the indefensible”. Shell Australia is among half a dozen companies contributing roughly one million dollars to a campaign by the Australian Energy Producers lobby, as a Greens-led parliamentary inquiry into gas taxation hears conflicting evidence. The advertising offensive comes as public support builds for replacing the existing petroleum resource rent tax with a more straightforward levy, a proposal championed by the independent senator David Pocock and the online influencer Konrad Benjamin.

The inquiry has exposed a stark divide. On one side, former treasury secretary Ken Henry urged the committee to “just do it”, reflecting the frustration of climate and energy groups who argue Australians are being short-changed by a tax regime that allows excessive profits. On the other, energy giants warn that altering the settings would spook international investors and undermine the industry’s competitiveness. The industry’s rearguard action, however, has done little to silence its critics, with the pro-tax camp gaining traction in a political landscape increasingly wary of corporate influence.

This struggle over natural resource wealth is mirrored in a parallel battle over gambling advertising. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week announced what he termed “the most significant reform on gambling that has ever been implemented”, including a cap of three television ads per hour between 6am and 8.30pm, a ban on radio ads during school pick-up and drop-off times, and restrictions on social media promotions. Yet the measures, which come more than three years after the landmark Murphy review, have been met with derision from addiction campaigners. Senator Pocock, a former rugby star turned crossbench politician, described the reforms as “infuriating” and accused the government of bowing to “vested interests” by failing to impose a complete ban on gambling advertising.

Viewed from Canberra, the pattern is unmistakable. In both the gas and gambling arenas, the Albanese government is attempting incremental change while powerful industries mobilise to protect their bottom lines. The question for the prime minister is whether such half measures will satisfy a public that has grown sceptical of politicians’ willingness to take on entrenched interests. Analysts in Melbourne note that the political calculus may shift if crossbench senators like Pocock continue to build momentum for more radical action, potentially forcing Labor’s hand ahead of the next election. For now, the twin debates over gas wealth and gambling harm are testing the government’s appetite for reform – and revealing the limits of its political courage.