Susan McDonald (Queensland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The latest report by the Australian Energy Market Operator, AEMO, confirms our worst fears—that Labor is driving Australia headlong towards a gas and energy crisis. This latest report states that southern states will be at risk of shortfalls from winter this year. From 2027 there will not be enough domestic gas to cover the eastern market, meaning blackouts and gas rationing across the east coast. AEMO has pointedly noted that the government's price intervention and mandatory code of conduct are key drivers in creating market uncertainty, which is leading to reduced investment in supply. That is real jobs for real people in regional Queensland that go.

With skyrocketing energy bills already hitting Australian families and businesses, Australians now face energy blackouts and rationing across the years to come, thanks to Labor's disastrous market interventions. Despite repeated warnings from the coalition over the last six months, Labor has chosen to ignore common sense and instead taken actions that will continue to destroy supply and result in gas and electricity shortages. Last October in the budget they cut funding for gas development, last December with their interventions they destroyed new supply from investors and in the last sitting they banned additional federal funding for gas projects.

AEMO and the ACCC are calling for further investment in supply, storage and infrastructure to avert the looming shortfalls and to secure energy supplies. But under Labor's failed policies, gas investment has dried up, southern import terminals have stalled, domestic supplies are inadequate and power prices are rising. The coalition's record on gas is clear—we need to put in place measures to support new supply and address shortfall risk. Labor has torn these plans up, and Australian families and businesses are losing out as a result. The only time power prices will come down under Labor is when there is no energy left to buy.