APIA Chief Executive Cheryl Cartwright said the industry also applauded the commitment to continuing review of the retention lease policy in the upstream gas industry, given the need to ensure sufficient natural gas for use in Australia.

“The Government has acknowledged that natural gas will be a major contributor to future energy policy and power generation as the world moves towards reducing carbon emissions,” Ms Cartwright said.

“Even with an increase in renewable energy sources, natural gas will be required during the transition from coal-fired power generation, and later, as the back-up fuel for renewable energy when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing,” she said.

Ms Cartwright said APIA does have some concerns about the imposition of further information obligations on gas pipelines without appropriate compensation.

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“There are concerns with the paper’s vague references to improved transparency, especially as there is no mention of tangible benefits,” she said. “Government must recognise that information initiatives come at a cost, and often the perceived benefits of the information go to a different sector than those with the data provisions obligations.”

Ms Cartwright said APIA was pleased the Paper acknowledged that investment in gas transmission (pipelines), which is underpinned by long-term contracts, delivers on-time investment.

“It is, therefore, pleasing that the Paper also commits to monitoring current gas policy, given the continuing push to ‘streamline’ gas and electricity policy, to the detriment of the gas transmission market.”

Ms Cartwright said that while the Paper acknowledges that the higher returns in the international market for LNG might discourage the supply of gas for domestic users, it does not support active government intervention to ensure a supply of domestic gas.

“But the Government is aware of this dilemma and will monitor the retention lease policies. This is good news for the domestic gas industry,” she said.

The Australian Government released the draft Energy White Paper for public consultation yesterday.

The Paper sets out a series of proposed Commonwealth Government priorities to address challenges confronting Australia’s energy sector, drawing from information prepared by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism in the National Energy Security Assessment and the Strategic Framework for Alternative Transport Fuels papers.