A gas betrayal. King plan favours foreign buyers, gas cartel over mums and dads

The Government’s Gas Reservation Policy is nothing short of treason. They claim this will put downward pressure on gas and electricity prices. It won’t happen. But the gas cartel and foreign governments will be happy. Rex Patrick reports.

Taking Out the Trash

The title of the media release was:Affordable gas for Australian homes and businesses“I will show the Australian public that this is a lie.

In the press release issued by Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Resources Minister Madeleine King on the results of the Gas Market Review, it was announced that the Government plans to impose a domestic gas reservation requirement on producers of between 15 and 25% of gas extracted, but only for new contracts.

It was a weak announcement that was overshadowed by ongoing coverage of the horrific events taking place in Bondi on the windward side of Christmas.

The government was undoubtedly happy with the media’s quiet reporting. They know what they’re doing. They know that their new policy, arrived at after much torture and secret negotiation, is a betrayal of both the environment and Australian consumers.

New gas will be given

There is an intention in the announcement to find new gas.

Gas reservation policies can have no impact on prices unless there are new approvals. In many places in the new era Gas Market Review Report In particular, it notes that the Government’s new policies aim to provide “regulatory certainty” as a way of encouraging investment in new supply.

In fact, the Government’s message is this; If you want electricity prices to be reduced, we have to do it.’drill baby drill’. (I apologize for referencing Donald Trump’s cheap slogans, but that’s where our government intends to go.)

The International Energy Agency strongly states that the path to net zero by 2050 is very narrow and requires no new oil and gas fields to be approved. The government ignores this.

Prime Minister Albanese and his ministers said ‘net zero’ but they are not serious about it. At least he is upfront about Coalition policies.

The word ‘climate’ appears only 18 times in the 104-page Report; but mostly as part of proper nouns like ‘Department’ Climate ‘Change, Energy, Environment and Water’ and ‘Minister of Change’ Climate Change and Energy’, once in the context of ‘investment’ climate’ and once in the context of motherhood’climate to change’.

No impact on Australian energy prices

Ministers put forward the idea that the new policy would put downward pressure on gas and electricity prices (gas determines the price of electricity).

They say the policy will be as follows:Protecting Australians from rising international gas prices”.

But this is a political lie.

The reservation plan only starts in 2027. This means nothing will change in the next 18 months.

And even when the plan is put in place, he will do very little. No retroactivity means there will be 0% domestic reserves for large amounts of existing gas, and 15-25% reserves for very small amounts of new gas.

The basis for this approach was contained in both the joint ministerial statement and the Gas Market Review report. ‘Existing conventions will be respected – both domestic and international conventions.

These are commercial contracts. The government knows Australians are hurting, it knows businesses are hurting, but it doesn’t want to disrupt commercial arrangements between companies.

Governments around the world are constantly changing policy. They are not bound by agreements between commercial entities. MWM has already debunked the gas cartel’s ‘sovereignty risk’ claims.

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Stakeholders are smiling

So the gas cartel members continue to grin like the Cheshire Cat.

There is no change for them. They charge high prices from foreign customers, demand motza from Australians, move profits overseas to minimize their taxes, and pay no royalties (PRRT was even more deplorable on the last MYEFO). And the government is happy to let them do it.

The Albanian Government has put commercial interests, especially foreign commercial interests, ahead of our national interests.

Although it may be reassuring to simply blame the influence of business influence on the Government, it is not that simple.

There are greater forces at work.

Foreign countries are grinning

It’s not just a cartel. Foreign governments are pressing even harder to keep Australian gas exports intact. They are grinning too.

Take Japan. Japan has only 11% domestic energy production as a percentage of total energy consumption. In calendar year 2022, Australia supplied 43 percent of Japan’s Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). Unsurprisingly, Japan is the leading investor in Australia’s LNG export sector.

INPEX It is a major manufacturing and export sector player in Australia. It has a 67% participation share in the Ichthys LNG project, which constitutes 10% of Japan’s LNG imports. INPEX also has interests in Darwin LNG, Coniston and Van Gogh, Prelude FLNG and Ravensworth.
JERA Another big player in Australia. He is involved in the Ichthys, Wheatstone, Gorgon, Barossa, Scarborough and Darwin LNG Projects.
Japan Australia LNGIt has equity interests in three LNG projects in Western Australia; the recently expanded North West Shelf, Wheatstone and Browse project (under development).
Osaka Gas Australia Sunrise (in development) deals with Ichthys and Gorgon.

The Japanese Government partially owns INPEX and provides financial and policy support to others.

It’s a similar story for South Koreans, who have only 19% domestic energy production as a percentage of total energy consumption. Only company names change; for example, Korea Gas Corporation, which deals with Prelude, Gorgon and Ichthys.

When advocacy occurs, it is not just commercial cartel. The Japanese and South Korean governments do the same, but the word ‘lobbying’ is replaced by ‘diplomacy’.

And our current government, like its predecessors, has a deep-rooted colonial mentality; It is always anxious to avoid even the slightest criticism of the foreign companies, governments and countries that our economy is poised to serve.