Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I will just say to Senator Madigan that this, of course, is not a straightforward issue, and I extend an invitation to you to discuss these matters personally with the minister, if you would like to do so. In direct response to your question, as I said before, onshore development is largely a state responsibility, but this government has always supported the responsible development of world-class gas resources. As older gas fields become depleted they have been replaced by new sources of gas that are deeper, tighter and more costly to develop. As I said earlier but I will say again, we believe that increasing overall gas supply is the best way to ensure customers have access to competitively priced gas. The gas on the east coast is also becoming an internationally tradeable commodity, with the development of technology that can liquefy natural gas and transport it overseas. I appreciate the senator's point in relation to these increases. The spot prices for gas in international markets has also fallen, and I would expect that, as the Australian market links more closely with the global market, there will also be pressure— (Time expired)