Media Release

An investigation by the ABC has revealed 17 per cent of Qld gas output is owned by Chinese companies. It also shows that overseas state-owned corporations have a stake in close to a third of natural gas developed in Qld and that countries are shoring up their domestic supplies with Australian gas while gas prices skyrocket for Australians.
KAP Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter says that most of the gas industry in Australia is owned by overseas companies and that gas is quadrupling in price – “causing immense suffering from household budgets and hip pockets to mineral processing and steel manufacturing, fertiliser to even peanut processing.”
Mr Katter said, “Amongst the communities to be hit hardest by escalating electricity charges will be Mount Isa – which is forced to rely on gas because the ALP-LNP have denied these communities access to our national energy grid.”
The Institute for Energy Economics reported to ABC that China, Korea and Japan have stockpiled domestic supply but Australia has failed to do so.
Mr Katter said, “We will be moving yet again in the Parliament for a Reserve Resource Policy. The producers can give 0.5 percent of their production to Australia, that’s not going to kill ‘em.”
A Domestic Reserve Resource Policy aims at securing Australia’s long-term energy needs by ensuring that we have access to domestic gas supplies.
Western Australia has a Domestic Gas Reservation Policy which makes available domestic gas equivalent to 15% of LNG production from each LNG export project.
“Reserving our existing supplies will protect manufacturers and householders from skyrocketing prices that are imminent without the implementation of a gas reserve policy,” said Mr Katter.
“Gas prices threaten the entire existence of industry in Australia. How are companies going to adjust to the 200 per cent rise in electricity charges in the last 10 years since corporatisation/privatisation and now on top of this a potential 400 per cent increase in gas prices?”
For nearly two decades Mr Katter has been a sustained and lone voice in the Parliament pushing for a Reserve Resource Policy, after being part of the inner-power group in the Bjelke Petersen Government in Queensland, which implemented a similar policy and saw Queensland’s development proposer and household electricity bills remain stable.
“A Reserve Resource Policy enabled Queensland to deliver the cheapest electricity in the world, which in turn helped to secure the aluminium industry,” Mr Katter said.
“If we introduced a Reserve Resource Policy for gas consumption we would see a drop in prices for the domestic and industrial market. This would save our dwindling industries.
“Our Government would rather export our resources, sell off our assets and let foreign companies prosper, rather than implement a Reserve Resource Policy and retain our assets; which would reduce the ever increasing costs of living.”
##ENDS##