Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Hansard source

. The government has taken action to ensure that Australians have affordable gas. We were the first government to establish a gas export control framework. The Prime Minister has renewed the agreement with the east coast LNG exporters to ensure gas for the domestic market. Both AEMO and the ACCC found that these actions reduced gas prices and ensured supply. Since early 2017, the spot price of gas in eastern Australia has fallen by 20 per cent. The only way to ensure long-term supply is to develop new gas reserves. It was the federal Labor government that allowed gas export projects in Gladstone to go ahead. Labor's then energy spokesperson, Mr Mark Butler, admitted that everyone knew there was going to be an impact on prices and yet they did nothing.