Mirabile dictu: Canavan summons gas cartel

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Can it be that at the cost of the east coast energy shock and one prime minister the gas cartel’s time has finally come? Via the AFR:

Senior executives from Santos, Origin Energy and Shell are set to be summoned to a meeting with federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan within two weeks ahead of a critical decision on potential curbs on LNG exports next year just as forecasts of a rebound in east coast prices increases pressure on the government to act.

…”The government has not made any decision yet on whether or not it will control exports next year in 2019; I’m still consulting with industry,” said the minister, underlining the commitment of Scott Morrison’s government to getting energy prices down and preserving Australian manufacturing jobs.

Don’t consult. Do. Not only pull the lever but reset it. The current target of the ADGSM is only export net-back prices, thanks to the appalling ACCC running interference for the cartel. Aim lower. $5Gj.

Moreover, reform the mechanism. Formalise a permanent supply. Use quotas if you have to.

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End the crisis.

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.