GAS LICENCES DON’T FIX CRITICAL MARKET ISSUES
- ACCC report exposes 2 years of Labor’s anti-gas policies.
- Offshore production announcement won’t pump gas for years.
- Approvals still stalled, as EDO & EJA weaponise “relevant persons” in broken regulatory process.
The Government’s decision to approve two offshore gas production licences was a panicked move designed to dilute the impact of today’s ACCC Interim Gas Report, which exposes the precarious position the Government has put the East Coast gas market in, according to Shadow Resources Minister, Senator Susan McDonald.
Senator McDonald was responding to the approvals in the Otway Basin, offshore Victoria, and said she understood one of the approvals had sat on the Federal Resources Minister’s desk for over 150 days since the State Government had given it the green light.
Senator McDonald said “Today’s ACCC report is yet another signal that the Government is incapable of delivering a stable gas or energy market, as yet more alarm bells ring for shortfalls in coming years.
“After two years of policy failures from Labor, including their failed price intervention, regulatory uncertainty, and continued demonisation of gas in our energy mix, the Government only have themselves to blame for this market failure.”
Senator McDonald also called out the sneaky attempt by the Government to hide this shortfall warning, with their granting of two production licences offshore Victoria.
“This is a weak attempt from the Government to drown out the ACCC report, which is a damning report on Labor’s gas market failures.
“Further, these fields are years away from production, and won’t do anything to address the looming issues as highlighted by the ACCC and other market experts.
“The Government has also failed to deliver on any reforms to the offshore consultation process, meaning that these projects will likely get caught in the convoluted and drawn-out approvals process.
“The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) and Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) have already been active in Victoria, attempting to exploit the loop-holes Labor has failed to fix, and will likely weaponise ‘relevant persons’ in attempts to stall these new developments.”
ENDS