The state of the natural gas industry has been the subject of rigorous debate over the past several months, with the development of the east-coast LNG export market raising some concern over the availability of natural gas in the coming years.
In light of this ongoing debate and industry calls for new policies, The Australian Pipeliner was interested to hear from Mr Macfarlane about his party’s position on the issues and policies being debated.
There is increasing uncertainty regarding supply and demand of Australia’s natural gas for the next five years. What will the Coalition do to ease these pressures?
New South Wales is facing crunch time for its gas supply from 2016 and it will be up to governments, both state and federal, as well as the gas industry, both producers and consumers, to work out a solution. Failure to do so will cost thousands of
jobs in industries in Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong.
The solution to the possibility of a gas shortage is to work to ensure the coal seam gas (CSG) industry in NSW can proceed. The gas industry needs to be able to go on to land where operators have been given the permits, where the landholder says they can and drill without intervention from extremist Greens.
The NSW Government is working towards this, to ensure there are conditions in place that will allow the CSG industry to proceed in a way that means it can co-exist with other land uses and with landholders.
Ensuring a supply of gas for NSW from CSG will help ease the upwards pressure on gas prices.
This increased demand for gas will come at a time when the domestic gas supply is predicted to be running out. Does the Coalition plan to work with the states to make more quantities of gas available?
The Coalition does not support the push for a mandatory gas reservation policy. It is simply not appropriate to change the rules for investors mid-stream and demand that a certain percentage of the gas they extract is reserved for domestic use.
Instead of a gas reservation policy applied to existing projects, it would be far more effective and less destructive to the industry to promote the idea of acreage reservation for domestic production on new projects, whereby certain areas are set aside, wholly or in part, for the extraction of gas for the domestic market.
Under such a policy, investors would know exactly where they stand and it would not apply to existing projects. A Federal Coalition Government would engage with industry, gas users and the states to strike the right balance without resorting to a blanket gas reservation policy that will damage the Australian gas industry in the long-run.
There are currently three major export LNG pipeline projects nearing completion in Queensland that will facilitate Australia’s growing gas export industry. What policies would the Coalition look to implement in order to continue this growth?
The most important way a Federal Coalition Government can support further growth in the gas export industry is to put in place policy settings that encourage investment and investor certainty.
The Coalition understands that Australia cannot take future investment in the gas sector for granted, especially given the LNG sector is facing increasing competition from other nations, including the United States where the shale gas industry is developing rapidly.
A Coalition Government would repeal the tax on carbon and the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, thereby removing two of the most significant drags on the entire energy and resources sector. The Coalition also wants to work with state governments to remove much of the red and green tape that bogs down project applications and development.
Major cost blowouts have occurred on most of Australia’s LNG projects, What strategies will the Coalition employ to ensure these projects reach completion?
The Coalition supports strong and fair wages for these projects, but if Australia is to be competitive our higher wage costs must be accompanied by better productivity.
A Federal Coalition Government would prioritise strategies to make Australian LNG projects internationally competitive, including the return of a strong cop to the beat in the form of the Australian Building and Construction Commission.
Construction on several major pipeline projects has been affected by Australia’s critical skilled labour shortage. What is your position on maintaining (or increasing) the number of 457 workers?
The Coalition has always believed that employers should seek to recruit their workforce from within Australia first but we have also always believed that skilled migration has been one of the most important contributors to Australia’s success.
It is critical that appropriate policies and strategies are in place to ensure Australia has the workforce it needs to secure strong growth and economic success in future. The 457 visa program provides the flexibility to deal with skill shortages in critical areas and the Coalition would continue the program. Further details about the specific details fall within the portfolio of the Shadow Minister for Immigration, Scott Morrison.