Taxing times for Albanese and Taylor as parties seek to match voter expectations

Reforming tax is becoming a credibility test for all – but the Liberal leader doesn’t seem keen while Labor sends mixed signals ahead of the budget Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Mining lobby representatives walked the halls of parliament house this week, handing out toy dump trucks with a fake Medicare card superglued to the tray. The tiny green card included the slogan: “Every Australian benefits from Australian mining.” Concerned at growing calls from across the parliament for more of the profits from soaring commodity exports to be returned in tax, the Minerals Council of Australia launched a rearguard action to remind MPs and journalists just how much miners already pay. Unsubtle in the extreme, the campaign – including a schmick website and ads at Canberra airport – contrasts $74bn in taxes and state royalties paid by miners with the total annual price tag for Medicare of about $37bn. Crossbenchers, the Greens, social services groups and even Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn have all called for gas exporters to pay more as the war in Iran upends global energy markets. The Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie told Guardian Australia last week that m