3 days Ago By Petra Stock
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been asked to investigate allegedly misleading claims made by Australians for Natural Gas , a pro-gas group with directors who include a gas industry executive and a Liberal candidate running in the federal election. Lawyers acting for Climate Integrity, a not-for-profit focused on corporate accountability, have filed a complaint with the ACCC. They argue the website and advertising materials of Australians for Natural Gas have failed to disclose its directors’ links to the gas industry and Liberal party, and overinflated the role of gas in the economy and energy transition.
Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter On its website, Australians for Natural Gas describes itself as a “not-for-profit organisation representing the interests of Aussie households, industries and producers”. The company was registered in January 2025 with Joel Riddle and Nathaniel Smith among its directors, according to information provided to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Riddle is the chief executive of the gas company Tamboran Resources, which holds the largest share of acreage in the Beetaloo basin , according to the company’s website .
Smith was installed as the Liberal candidate for the New South Wales seat of Whitlam after the party’s initial choice was disendorsed , and was previously a member of the NSW parliament from 2019 to 2023. The complaint to the ACCC alleges that Australians for Natural Gas has represented itself on its website and on social media as a grassroots not-for-profit organisation, failing to disclose its directors’ interests. It says the company overstates the contribution of gas to the Australian economy, by relying on out of date information; overstates the global demand for gas; and that its claims about the role of gas exploration in reducing electricity bills do not disclose that the cheapest electricity is from renewable sources.
The complaint also alleges that claims of reduced emissions thanks to gas replacing coal are misleading because they ignore research about the emissions associated with the processing and transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas, and assume gas would not in fact replace renewable energy. The director of Climate Integrity, Claire Snyder, said Australians for Natural Gas appeared to be “an incredibly brazen example of astroturfing”. “One thing that was concerning to us is that this website popped up right at the beginning of an election campaign, when energy is a critical and vote-deciding issue,” she said.
She said Climate Integrity was raising its concerns with the ACCC to ensure a factual and evidence-based public discussion of energy and climate change, and the role of gas in the transition to zero emissions, particularly during the election. A spokesperson for Australians for Natural Gas described the complaint as “spurious”, noting its membership included users and producers of natural gas, “as we clearly state on our website”. They did not respond when contacted in relation to Snyder’s comments.
On its website , the company says its membership “encompasses a diverse array of stakeholders across the natural gas value chain, including upstream producers, midstream infrastructure operators, and downstream users in industry”. It does not name any of its members or directors, or provide any contact email, street address or phone number. Sign up to Clear Air Australia Adam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisis after newsletter promotion “We are focused on highlighting the important role that affordable and reliable natural gas plays in supporting the economy and the wider community,” the spokesperson said.
Gas policy has been a key issue in the election , with the Coalition proposing that producers would be required to supply an additional 50 to 100 petajoules to east coast states. Two academics from Monash University’s Climate Change Communication Hub, writing in The Conversation, have accused Australians for Natural Gas of producing “climate misinformation” in ads that had been seen more than 1m times during the election campaign. Kirsty Ruddock, the managing lawyer of the corporate and commercial team at the Environmental Defenders Office, which drafted the letter, said the ACCC had identified misleading claims about energy and greenwashing among its compliance and enforcement priorities for 2025-26.
“We’d like them to investigate so they can determine whether there are breaches of the Australian consumer law, and ensure that companies that are making these types of statements are held to account. “The longer these representations go on, the more impact they have. So it’s important to address them relatively quickly, and make sure that the regulators are looking at it.
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