Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. Will the minister outline to the House how the Morrison government's plan for jobs is driving our gas-led recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and how this plan will deliver reliable and affordable energy? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Longman for his question. Like all on this side of the House, he is focused on delivering for his households and small businesses affordable, reliable energy. He knows it's crucial to them. He also knows that a gas-fired recovery is central to the government's JobMaker plan to deliver a strong Australia on the other side of the virus. Our competitive advantage has always been based on cheap energy, and gas is crucial to that. Gas plays an important role in Australian manufacturing, with 850,000 jobs employed in Australian manufacturing, delivering products like plastics for PPE, nitrogen fertiliser for agriculture and ammonium nitrate for our miners and, of course, bricks for our builders.

Even before COVID-19, we'd seen sharp reductions in the spot price of gas in this country. In the last quarter, we've seen it down 54 per cent from the same time the previous year, but there is much to do to ensure that we have that affordable, reliable gas into the future on long-term contracts. Australian gas must work for all Australians. We are committed to making sure that our LNG, liquefied natural gas, exporters remain world leaders as they are today. The government will invest to unlock supply and to ensure we have investment in efficient infrastructure pipelines. We are delivering market reforms to ensure that there's internationally competitive pricing for our customers in Australia. We want to make sure that those prices remain competitive for years to come for our manufacturers and to firm up our electricity sector, with our record level of investment in renewables.

The member asked about alternatives. We learnt over the weekend that Labor's position on gas is not to have a position on gas. They aren't allowed to talk about important projects, like the Santos project at Narrabri. It's not often that I would agree with the President of the CFMMEU, Tony Maher, but I think he summed it up perfectly when he said that the member for Hindmarsh's recent comments about coal and gas not having a future are an insult to workers. Labor's failure to stand up on gas is just another example of the Leader of the Opposition being paralysed by indecision and division, and that includes his failure to have a 2030 target, as required by the Paris Agreement. We're getting on with delivering our plan for affordable, reliable energy as we bring down our emissions.