The unions are chiming in behind Industry Minister Ed Husic. AWU national secretary Dan Walton has done a little truth-telling about Resources Minister Mad King’s shocking new Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (ADGSM):
“[it is] the exact same kind of dud handshake agreement struck by the Turnbull government”
“The government has a choice: defend the insane super profits that gas exporters are making from the Ukraine War or defend the future of Australian manufacturing and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it supports. I can’t believe this is apparently a head scratcher for Labor.”
“The party platform has already committed to use-it-or-lose-it conditions for offshore gas resources, a price trigger, and domestic reservation policies where necessary. It’s time to actually walk the talk.”
“It’s not even like the government has to do anything remotely brave — getting tougher on gas companies is a position supported by the Tories in the UK, the Grattan Institute, the Teals in safe Liberal seats, and most leading economists. You now have CEOs of gas companies coming out and saying they expect it to happen. It should be simple.”
“The federal government has rightly stated it wants Australia to become a manufacturing powerhouse. Well, there’s zero chance of that happening while it maintains this current stance on gas.”
There is labour and there is Labor. Under Albo’s cowards the two do not meet.
How can they when rather than address the growing outrage, not to mention Labor civil war, Mad King has been whisked away on an all-expenses-paid junket tour of WA mining and gas facilities as we speak:
Fresh from signing up to the eastern gas cartel’s Code of Conduct written by its lawyers to explicitly enable it to charge Aussies up to $60Gj for gas that is produced for $5Gj which will deliver every household and business east of WA a utility bill shock approaching…wait for it…200%.
In what twisted universe is any of this appropriate? Sack Mad King, tear up the ADGSM, and apply export levies NOW.
