Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

We have to have a clear understanding of what is happening to gas markets in this country. We are faced with a situation where traditional supplies of gas, domestic sources of gas, are declining. Over the next year, the Australian Energy Market Operator projects that Bass Strait will lose a sixth of our domestic consumption of gas due to declining reserves. So 100 petajoules will be lost to our domestic supply situation because of a declining market in Bass Strait.

It is only because of the investments in Queensland that have massively expanded our industry that we have the flexibility to respond in this case through this licensing regime. But that is a more costly gas to extract and, over the long term, we need to find a new supply of gas that is hopefully as prosperous as Bass Strait has been for us for many decades. That is why the government is open to ensuring we consider the Great Australian Bight as an option for oil and gas. It is very prospective in terms of the world stage. That is why we are doing a use-it-or-lose-it review in Bass Strait—to see what other resources we have there. It is why state and territory governments need to develop their own resources— (Time expired)