This is good from The Australian.
…Manufacturing Australia, which counts BlueScope, Tomago Aluminium and CSR as members, told the government review that east coast-based manufacturers pay between $12 and $19 per gigajoule for gas compared with the US, where prices are $5 to $7/GJ in comparison.
…The group said Australia must target a delivered gas price below $10/GJ to restore a competitive advantage given its abundant natural resources.
One of the fixes it recommends is to force all east coast LNG exporters to contribute directly to solving the looming gas shortfall, a jab at the Santos-led GLNG which buys significant volumes from domestic producers to meet export contracts – a strategy critics say adds strain to already tight supplies.
A net contributor test “should be applied annually to ensure LNG producers maintain their historic commitment to governments of being a net contributor to the domestic gas market,” Manufacturing Australia said.
It also called for a domestic pricing mechanism to ensure local customers are supplied at reasonable prices with producers prevented from meeting domestic obligations using higher-cost gas while reserving low-cost production for export.
That pricing mechanism also needs to prevent the gas cartel from going on a production strike. Peter Dutton’s proposal did just that by punishing the cartel with export levies if it did not meet thresholds of local gas abundance.
But the treasonous Albo has already ruled out any move to reserve retrospective gas projects, so that’s a non-starter.
He could still target STO with the third-party bans, and that would help for a while, delivering 100Pj locally.
But it’s not enough. Into the 2030s, the export cartel will be sucking away every molecule it can get.
To fill the gap beyond 2030, export volumes will need to be further curtailed. Fortunately, export contracts roll off pretty fast after that, so all we need to do is prevent some gas sales into Asian spot markets, precisely what Peter Dutton suggested.
IEEF also suggests an export levy.
Recommends implementation of an export tax for spot LNG exports to create stronger incentives for domestic supply, with a spot LNG export cap framework to allow governments to cap or prohibit spot LNG exports in specified circumstances (such as when a gas shortage is forecast for a given period).
Except the treasonous Albo has ruled it out.
The one body that agrees with the treasonous Albo is Innes Willox’s at AIG, which couldn’t lobby its way out of a wet paper bag. His Australian Industry Group is busy betraying its members and undermining Manufacturing Australia.
There is no competitively procured LNG versus reserving QLD gas. His own members are up in arms about it.
With friends like Willox, the industry needs no enemies.
