Citing research from 2013, Dr Denniss said today’s surging gas prices were predicted a decade ago, when producers started building up Australia’s export market.

“We didn’t stumble into this,” he told The New Daily.

“There is no gas shortage in Australia. We’re producing three times more gas than we used to.

“Gas giants are booking windfall profits taking care of global markets before anyone locally.”

Dr Denniss said the gas industry has spent $80 billion over the past decade building a raft of infrastructure to help it export Australian products, allowing the industry to charge higher prices for its products than would be possible locally.

But that’s also pushed up the price for local customers, because it’s made gas more scarce for households and businesses in Australia.

“When you link a small market [like Australia] to big markets, it’s inevitable what happens,” Dr Denniss said.

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But Dr Denniss said while this may be the case, the federal government could move to pass a tax on the windfall profits being booked by gas companies in the interim, and then redirect these funds to households and businesses struggling with higher bills. The Conservative government in the UK has already done this.

“There’s nothing to stop them doing that,” he said.

“Let’s be clear: Shareholders in gas companies weren’t expecting a war in the Ukraine, so therefore shareholders in gas companies weren’t expecting enormous windfall profits, either.”