MEDIA RELEASE - 4 October 2013

The Greens NSW spokesperson on mining Jeremy Buckingham welcomed comments from BG Australia chairperson Catherine Tanna yesterday that there was no gas crisis.  She told a conference in Canberra that: “Gas is available, it may not be at a price that matches historical prices, but it is available.”

“Ms Tanna’s comments make it clear that there is no gas crisis for NSW.  It is a phantom crisis invented by parts of the gas industry trying to scare the population into allowing coal seam gas to go ahead,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.

“What this phantom crisis has achieved is to put the spotlight on the fact that the rush to export LNG to Asia is what will cause gas prices to rise - imposing extra costs on the manufacturing sector, risking thousands of jobs and increasing household energy bills.

“No other gas exporting country in the world allows unrestricted gas exports.  The United States requires an export proponent to prove that there is not a domestic use for the gas before they will issue an export licence.

“Governments should address the problem created by unrestricted LNG export through sensible regulation of the gas market such as a domestic gas reservation policy.  The national interest should be put ahead of the pursuit of profit by the LNG companies.

“It is clearly in the national interest to ensure that Australian manufacturing industries and the hundreds of thousands of jobs they sustain, have access to gas at a reasonable price and with contract lengths that provide the stability for manufacturers to make investment decisions.

“Former federal resources minister Martin Ferguson’s appointment to an APPEA board makes it clear he prioritised the gas industry over the national interest.  The test for the Abbott and O’Farrell Governments is whether they will act in the national interest and whether they are prepared to  take on the narrow interests of the coal seam gas and LNG industry?” he said.

Contact: Max Phillips - 9230 2202 or 0419 444 916