Media Release

27 February 2017: KAP Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter has welcomed the Australian Workers Union joining him in calling for gas companies to meet the domestic market first, or – a “Reserve Resource Policy”.
The Australian Workers Union (AWU) has written to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull urging him to 'act decisively and rationally in the national interest' to ensure a portion of Australia's natural gas is quarantined for domestic use.
Mr Katter said, “Australia is one of the very few countries on earth that does not have Reserve Resource Policy.

“In the United States Resource Policy is so vigorous, energy products can only be exported once all domestic demand has been met. While in Australia, only the smallest amount goes on to the home market.
“In Australia, wages are negligible. Almost all of Australia’s gas is foreign owned therefore Australia gets virtually nothing at all out of the coal-seam gas industry and watches $23billion each year go overseas.
“Mount Isa has one of the biggest fertiliser plants in the world.
“They have to buy their ammonia, natural gas at around $14 mw per hour (world market price) whereas their competitor nations all have a Reserve Resource Policy and secure their gas natural gas at around $4 mw per hour.
“We had the cheapest electricity on earth in 1990 --- this had enabled us to secure the massive aluminium industry of Qld. One of the major reasons for this was we had a Reserve Resource Policy and most of the State’s power came from Gladstone which ran on free coal.
“Now we have amongst the highest electricity charges in the world and of course all metal processing in Australia is closing down.
“Steel, copper, fertilisers -- all processing is moving overseas.
“Numerous statements by MIM Copper and the Blue Scope Steel CEO on front of the Australian Financial Review said insecurity of supply and cost of electricity would make it most difficult to exist.
“Incitec Pivot Fertilisers are one of Australia’s biggest fertiliser manufactures. They have built a giant new plant in the Unites States to enable them to afford their customer a competitive price for fertiliser
“Unless there is Reserve Resource Policy it is hard to see how any manufacturing at all can take place in Australia.
“Just ‘who’ is running Australia and for ‘whose’ benefits?”