From the AFR:
NSW households are set to be slugged with an increase of up to $225 a year on their gas bills as of July 1 as the start-up of LNG exports from Queensland places a squeeze on east coast supplies.
The price hikes recommended by the state pricing regulator IPART on Wednesday are lower than those sought by AGL Energy and Origin Energy, but represent a hefty annual increase of 17.6 per cent, the third straight year of price rises.
IPART put the rises down to rising gas costs. The report goes on to quote one Phil Laird, national co-ordinator for the Lock the Gate Alliance:
“Gas companies like Origin are making local consumers bear the cost of their plans to pursue world prices and massive profits. IPART is basically proposing to accommodate their profiteering, and NSW regional communities and consumers will pay the cost.”
I have sympathy for businesses being hit with higher gas prices but none for households, I’m afraid. The reason wholesale development of gas resources for export was needed in the first place was that households, led by NSW, had already trashed Australia’s external position through the pre-GFC borrow and spend housing and consumption binge.
The gas boom was one of the most fortunate turn of events for any overfed current account deficit nation in the history of poor economic management. Without it, NSW house prices would likely now be around half their value and standards of living would be far lower.
That households now have to subsidise gas exports is poetic justice and “shut the gate”, like so many other NIMBY wankers, needs an economics lesson before mouthing off pointlessly.
If it were up to me, I’d make NSW households pay twice the price rises for gas and use the money to subsidise wholesale gas supplies for what’s left of manufacturing as well.
End of the age of entitlement my butt.
