Labor’s gas plan just hot air

         

  • Annastacia Palaszczuk’s promises to deliver cheaper gas to Queensland households and industry nothing but hot air
  • Despite promises that new land will be reserved for Queensland gas supply only, Anthony Lynham said companies will decide when that land comes into production
  • There is zero proof a reservation policy will decrease gas prices

The Palaszczuk Government’s policies to deliver gas to the domestic market has been exposed as hot air, with none of the initiatives currently delivering any additional gas to domestic consumers.

LNP Shadow Mines Minister Andrew Cripps said Labor’s Gas Supply and Demand Action Plan was already 18 months late after originally being due for release in early 2016.

Mr Cripps said Mines Minister Anthony Lynham tried to blame the Federal Government for Labor’s failures on this and many other issues exposed at recent Estimates Committee hearings.

“Minister Lynham has admitted that no modelling has been done to determine if these policy initiatives will have any impact whatsoever on domestic gas prices or supply,” Mr Cripps said.

“Despite all the hype and spin, the Minister has no idea if the tenure reservation policy will have any impact on the domestic supply or price of gas –– Labor is effectively flying blind.

“I asked him a straight question during the Estimates Committee hearing – when will those gas tenures released under Labor’s policy first produce gas for consumers in the domestic market?

“Anthony Lynham admitted that the tender processes for these gas tenures had not even been completed and that the market would determine when the gas would ultimately be produced.”

Mr Cripps said the Palaszczuk Government was playing politics with the domestic gas supply issue by criticising the New South Wales Government for failing to develop its own gas reserves.

“Anthony Lynham conveniently overlooks the fact that Victoria is doing exactly the same thing and he didn’t like it when I pulled him up on it during the recent Estimates Committee hearing,” he said.

“The Minister tried to claim that Victoria contributes gas to the domestic market through off shore operations, but I pointed out that off shore gas is actually regulated by the Federal Government.”

Mr Cripps said the Palaszczuk Government’s domestic gas framework would not ensure that domestic consumers could access a secure and/or affordable supply of gas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: ,