Will Idiot Albo and Chicken Chalmers do something? AFR.
BlueScope chief executive Mark Vassella has warned that large parts of Australia’s manufacturing sector could be forced to shut because of high gas prices, which also threaten the steelmaker’s plans to revive the loss-making Whyalla plant.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Future Made in Australia strategy to revive the nation’s manufacturing base could be dead on arrival if he fails to address soaring gas prices, Vassella said.
“When they shut down in Australia, there’s no coming back … It’s continuing to deteriorate, and it’s not getting better,” he said, calling for an immediate gas reservation policy, which would require big gas producers to set aside more supply for domestic use.
Gas prices were three to four times higher in Australia than the US and the Middle East, BlueScope noted in its annual results announcement on Monday, which showed a sharp drop in profit after the group took a big writedown on its struggling US steel coatings business.
…Vassella said it made no sense for Australia to be re-importing liquefied natural gas. “How bloody crazy is that?,” he said, referring to long-delayed projects on Australia’s east coast to import gas to address potential supply shortages in coming years.
Vassella called for an immediate halt on the uncontracted export of spot cargoes, as well as the introduction of a domestic gas reservation system. The federal government is considering a gas reservation policy as part of a broader review of the nation’s gas market.
I could not have put that better myself. It is 100% correct.
There is no doubt Australia has oodles of gas if it restructures the failed market. Here is the IEEFA fact sheet.
I agree with all of that. The best way to do this is the method proposed by Peter Dutton. Use a combination of export levies and use-it-or-lose-it laws to force gas production to stay high and keep it in Australia. It’s more flexible than export permits and ensures that the cartel can’t go on a production strike.
Then, just keep doing it as needed as contracts roll off.
