Western Australia’s unenforceable domestic gas reservation policy must be replaced by federal laws, according to a new submission made by the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) on the draft legislation.
CCWA Executive Director Matt Roberts said WA’s domestic gas policy was failing to stop gas prices increasing or shield WA homes and businesses from global price volatility.
“WA’s domestic gas reservation is not law; it is not written into legislation and is therefore unable to be properly enforced,” Mr Roberts said.
“By defending a failing policy and rejecting the need for a federal scheme, the WA government is running interference for the gas industry which is clearly looking to protect export profits at all cost.
“If Premier Roger Cook wants to keep gas prices low for Western Australians and prevent the need for destructive new gas projects, he should get out of the way and let the federal scheme do its job.
"We cannot continue to be the state that operates as an exception to the rule when it comes to oil and gas – we need to work coherently on a national-scale to hold gas exporters to account.
“Unlike the state scheme, an enforceable Federal Government implemented gas reservation scheme would see WA’s manufactured projected gas shortfalls disappear. It would end any of the false justifications we keep hearing for dangerous new projects like drilling for gas at Scott Reef or fracking in the Kimberley.
“Woodside says Western Australia’s domestic gas reservation policy is 'predictable’, and on that point, we agree — companies like Woodside have predictably evaded their obligations, because they aren’t enshrined in legislation. The WA gas reservation policy is not the certainty that industry claims it wants.
“However, while we support the federal scheme in principle, it must be implemented in a way that will accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, not delay it.
“As currently written, the Federal Government’s draft legislation offers too much support for the gas industry. It allows for export licences of a duration of up to 50 years, which risks locking in fossil fuels well past the point by which we need to have phased them out.
“What’s more, the draft legislation fails to mention climate change, emission reduction, or the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels.
"Any policy on gas being drafted in the year 2026 needs to recognise that the burning of gas is causing catastrophic climate damage around the world, and we need a plan to transition responsibly and urgently away from gas to renewable energy sources like solar, wind and batteries.”
ENDS
Media contact: John Cooke – 0433 679 780