Natural gas

Motion - Natural gas and energy
Private Members' Business
Federation Chamber
12 August 2024

Since the Albanese Labor government took office, gas prices have gone up 25 per cent. It's no wonder that so many Aussie manufacturers who rely on gas have closed their doors over the last two years. Let's not forget the five million Australian homes that use gas to power the heater in the middle of winter, cook the food and heat up water. It is a national disaster that this government has turned its back on the gas industry in this country.

Households are going into financial hardship to pay their energy bills. I have food charities in my Western Sydney electorate of Lindsay that are now paying families' power bills. Many mums and dads work so hard in my community, but under this cost-of-living crisis they are getting smashed with higher mortgage rates, higher grocery bills and higher petrol costs. But these parents are proud and don't want to take food away from those in need, so they've asked charities to help them out with paying their electricity and gas bills instead.

Recently, with the deputy leader of the opposition and shadow minister for industry, I visited a steel manufacturer in Emu Plains. They told us that their gas bill has gone up almost 40 per cent in the last two years. A local gym owner in Penrith told me that their power bill has more than doubled since Labor took office. Another manufacturer in Jamisontown spoke to me about their energy bills rising 100 per cent. This manufacturer looked at putting solar panels on their roof to assist with their energy costs, but the roof structure just can't hold them. We also need to remember that it doesn't matter how many solar panels there are in the world; we still need gas to power furnaces to create plastics and for steel and for the sovereign manufacturing that is so important in Australia.

These cases that I just mentioned are not extraordinary, but they are the crippling reality of doing business under the Labor government. These figures are dire for so many manufacturers across the country, particularly those in Western Sydney, like those in Emu Plains, Penrith and Saint Marys in my own community. Renewables are only driving up the cost of electricity and gas. Does the government not think an additional 28,000 kilometres of transmission lines across the country isn't going to raise costs? These costs will be baked into the bills of every young person renting, every mum and dad in the suburbs and every senior trying to get by.

Under Labor, 90 per cent of our 24/7 baseload power is going to be forced out of the energy grid in a matter of years. This is real, and we need to take action today to prevent blackouts and brownouts continuing to occur in our energy system. That's why the coalition supports gas alongside renewables and nuclear to boost our 24/7 baseload capacity and ensure energy security into the decades to come. Manufacturers, small businesses, regional communities and suburbs across Australia need and deserve reliable and affordable energy.

Gas being up 25 per cent isn't something the Labor government likes to talk about. Another figure they shy away from is $275. This is the figure that the Prime Minister repeated around 100 times going into the 2022 election. He said that, in 2025, energy bills would be lowered, based on 2022 prices, by $275. That has not happened at all. Every single Australian knows this is a broken promise. The default market offer price for Western Sydney has gone up almost $1,000, factoring Labor's accounting. The government need to own up to their mistake and admit that the $275 figure will never eventuate for families and business owners.

A renewables-only approach sends negative signals to international markets who rely on our natural resources. One of our closest partners, Japan, needs our gas. We also need our gas. Unless this government does something soon, we will see our neighbours and allies go elsewhere for energy sources. We need more gas projects approved to get more gas into our domestic market to drive down energy costs and firm up our energy system. Gas sites can be turned on and rapidly produce energy for consumption across Australia. Gas is vital to produce an energy resource to power our factories and our homes. Gas is vital for domestic energy security. We need 24/7 power to keep the lights on across Australia. Gas is vital for our international partners and, in turn, our security in supporting affiliates with energy and other products that will assist our own geostrategic interests. It's about time this Albanese Labor government wakes up and backs our gas industry, for the sake of our nation.