I reported on Friday how the Australian manufacturing industry is stepping-up lobbying efforts to have a proportion of Australian gas supplies set aside for domestic use, as occurs in the United States. The lobbying follows concerns that Australian industry is facing escalating gas prices and, in some cases, struggling to access gas altogether, as more and more LNG is exported overseas. Accordingly, Australia risks immense harm to employment and economic activity unless adequate, affordable gas supply is made available.
Above is an interesting interview screened last night on ABC’s The Business with Sue Morphet, The Chair of Manufacturing Australia, explaining more of the manufacturing argument for an Australian gas policy.
In the interview, Ms Morphet declares that “a national emergency” is emerging in Australian gas policy whereby some $28 billion of economic value and 200,000 jobs are under threat from rising gas prices and dwindling supplies.
Many companies are also having great difficulty obtaining gas contracts of more than two years, which is making longer-term business planning and investment more difficult.
Ms Morphet also claims that Australia is one of the only developed countries to permit unrestricted exporting of LNG, and is seeking a “national interest test” similar to the United States and Canada, which weighs-up potential costs on domestic industries before granting approval to any new LNG export facilities.
As noted on Friday, with a “gas cliff” expected in 2016 as major east coast LNG export terminals come on line, gas shortages and rising domestic prices are likely to become more pressing. Expect the war between gas producers and users to escalate from here.
