Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I see that Senator Hanson-Young is on her feet, so, given the time, I will keep my remarks brief. The minister and her office have spoken with a range of affected and interested businesses and other organisations, as you'd expect with this kind of legislative reform. You ask about impacts on gas prices. This change will not impact existing gas projects whatsoever. What the changes do is keep pace with changing technology. Shale gas fracking was not on the cards when the water trigger was introduced in 2013. If it had been, it would logically have been included in the definition. The changes simply ensure that there is a level playing field for all unconventional gas projects that have the potential to have significant impacts on water. This was a change that we committed to at the election. Industry have had plenty of time to prepare for this change, and importantly, these changes will give the community confidence that the impacts of unconventional gas production and water resources will be properly regulated by the Commonwealth.