Senex supports the proposition that abundant and affordable energy is critical to maintaining Australia’s prosperity. We have strongly and consistently advocated that the best path to achieve this requires Australia to increase the supply of gas to both domestic users and our trade partners.
The Government has ignored clear warnings that its gas reservation scheme risks damaging the very investment Australia needs to develop new gas supply.
The Bill still deliberately seeks to oversupply the domestic market. More concerningly, the Government’s own Impact Analysis acknowledges that its policy may make gas production uneconomic, reduce investment and lower revenues for domestic producers. It explicitly characterises the policy’s net impact as a transfer of value from gas producers to domestic users through downward pressure on prices.
Senex CEO Darren Stevenson said:
“The government has decided who will be the winners and the losers with this policy. I encourage them to go to regional Queensland to apologise to those communities, small businesses and workers who will be demonstrably worse off under this policy.
You cannot solve Australia’s future gas supply challenge by deliberately undermining the economics of investing in new gas supply. The Government’s own analysis admits this policy could make production uneconomic and reduce investment. That should be a red flag for every investor considering putting capital into Australia.”
Senex and its shareholders have invested more than $1 billion expanding its Queensland operations to supply Australian households and businesses.
Australia needs policies that encourage more gas development, competition and investment, not retrospective intervention designed to suppress prices.
This policy will result in less investment that is required to sustain gas supply, which should be a concern for all gas users in the coming years.
Senex urges Parliament to substantially amend the Bill, remove deliberate oversupply and protect investment in new Australian gas supply.
Ends