THE HON JASON CLARE MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR RESOURCES AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA
SHADOW MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INVESTMENT
MEMBER FOR BLAXLAND
THE HON MARK BUTLER MP
SHADOW MINISTER CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY
MEMBER FOR PORT ADELAIDE
GOVERNMENT NOT GOOD ENOUGH ON GAS
Today the Prime Minister has promised Australia businesses and households that his announcement will halve gas bills from 1 July this year.
HOST: So it will be comparable but not necessarily cheaper for industry in Australia?
TURNBULL: Oh, no, it will be cheaper than the prices that are being offered now. People are being offered prices of $20 a gigajoule. It should be around half that or less.
ABC AM – THURSDAY, 27 APRIL 2017
Labor will hold Malcolm Turnbull to this promise. If he doesn’t deliver and breaks this promise to businesses and households, his leadership is finished.
Today’s announcement is an admission by Mr Turnbull that his gas talkfests have been a complete failure. Malcolm Turnbull was talking when he should have been acting – he allowed the crisis to develop and then he allowed it to drag on at a cost to businesses and households.
Australia is in the middle of an energy crisis. Under the Turnbull Government, power bills are going through the roof and Australian industry cannot access affordable gas.
This is about Australian customers having access to Australian gas at a reasonable price, so they can keep and grow jobs.
Labor is pleased the Government is finally doing something to address their gas crisis. It’s long overdue but it’s not enough.
If the Government’s Domestic Gas Security Mechanism doesn’t deliver on the Prime Minister’s own benchmark of halving gas prices in the next few months, then the Prime Minister’s credibility and authority will receive a terminal blow.
Bill Shorten and Labor have been warning about the problems in the gas market for years. Since 2015 we’ve advocated a gas export National Interest Test and for months we’ve been warning more drastic measures are needed to address the short term crisis that the Turnbull Government has let develop under its watch.
This whole time, the Liberal party has criticised Labor and our concern for Australian gas users facing ever rising prices as Australia exported ever more gas.
While we welcome Malcolm Turnbull finally acknowledging the crisis – what he is announcing today isn’t enough to secure supply certainty, reduce power prices and protect jobs for the long-term.
Malcolm Turnbull himself admits his changes are temporary. We need permanent solutions to secure supply, reduce power prices and protect jobs.
Labor urges the Government to copy Labor and adopt:
- A permanent national interest test for the gas market – so that Australian businesses and households are at the front of the queue;
- An Emissions Intensity Scheme for the electricity sector to help fix the power crisis.
Malcolm Turnbull must now deliver. His leadership rests on it.
THURSDAY, 27 APRIL 2017
MEDIA CONTACT:
KORENA FLANAGAN (CLARE) 02 9790 2466
LUCY CARUSO (BUTLER) 08 8241 0198
