LABOR’S ANTI-GAS POLICIES PUTTING AUSTRALIAN FAMILIES AT RISK

Today’s report by the Energy Market Operator, AEMO, confirms our worst fears that Labor is driving Australia headlong towards a gas and energy crisis.

AEMO’s 2023 Gas Statement of Opportunities identifies Labor’s disastrous market interventions, out of control inflation and poor regulatory environment as key factors in the reduction in critical supply and industry confidence.

In this latest report, Southern states will be at risk of shortfalls from winter this year. By 2027, there will not be enough domestic gas to cover the eastern market, meaning blackouts and gas rationing across the east coast.

Shadow Minister for Resources, Senator McDonald said “Despite repeated warnings from the Coalition over the last six months, Labor has chosen to ignore common sense and instead taken actions that will continue to destroy supply and result in gas and electricity shortages.”

“AEMO has pointedly noted that the Government’s price intervention and mandatory code of conduct are key drivers in creating market uncertainty, which is leading to reduced investment in supply” she said.

“Yet Labor are doing everything they can to make the situation worse. Last October they cut funding for gas development in the Budget, last December they destroyed new supply from investors with their interventions, and last week they banned additional federal funding to gas projects.”

“Under Labor’s failed policies, gas investment has dried up, domestic supplies are inadequate and power prices are still rising – another broken promise from Labor.”

Shadow Minister for Energy, Ted O’Brien MP said “by killing gas, Labor risks consigning Australians to poverty.”

“We’ll be at the mercy of the weather this winter – if it’s a cold one, not only will the cost of energy soar, but the gas may not even be available.”

“The Coalition’s record on gas is clear – we put in place measures to support new supply and address shortfall risk, but Labor has torn these plans up, and Australian families and businesses are losing out as a result.

“Last winter, senior citizens had to choose between heating and eating, but if we run short of gas they may not have either, as the stove won’t cook the dinner and the heater won’t heat the home.”

“Out of control inflation, alongside market and regulatory uncertainty from ill-conceived and persistent government intervention, and activists both inside and outside the government ensure that the interests of everyday Australians are always put last under Labor.”