Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Science) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Hunter. If I may, can I start by congratulating you, Mr Speaker, on your election, and also congratulate the member for his election as the member for Hunter. As a former fitter and boilermaker, he knows full well the impact of these issues on manufacturing, and I welcome the chance to respond.

The gas price rise has been a serious problem for manufacturing across the country, but obviously for companies and manufacturers in the Hunter—represented by the member, and also the member for Paterson—they're gas reliant manufacturers. They're big employers, particularly in regional Australia and our outer suburbs. They are obviously concerned about the increase in price, but we should also take a moment to thank those manufacturers who have held on to jobs. They've worn some of those price increases, held onto jobs and protected regional communities. We are very grateful and thank them for that. They are dependent on the adequate supply of gas at a fair price.

The ACCC today clearly laid bare those flaws in the domestic gas market that were outlined by the Treasurer: concentration in the market; a failure to adhere to the spirit of the Heads of Agreement; and there has been a concern around the shortfall and the pressure that will place on manufacturing. From our point of view, if you look at the way in which that has played out, gas prices themselves going from a shade under $8 a gigajoule a few years ago to the average spot price now being about $44, that is a huge increase. And the reality is this: we have multinational companies extracting an Australian resource to sell to international clients at a price that's squeezing Australian industry and jobs. Something has to be done about it, and I think there will be a lot of manufacturers today welcoming the announcement by the Minister for Resources to start the consultation around the ADGSM, because we do need to see some movement on this. We do need to see this fixed.

We had a lot of talk from those opposite during their time in government, but the reality is what they've put in place does not work and needs to be adjusted—not just in terms of supply. Supply is one thing, but the price at which it is offered is another. It is reflective of a poor legacy: 22 failed policies by those opposite and a failure to get this right, and manufacturers have been forced to pay the price for that. This is not right. It is something that we are determined to correct, and we are taking action to do just that.

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