Energy policy
James NEWBURY (Brighton) (14:21): My question is to the Minister for Energy and Resources. The minister for energy said about gas, ‘I’m happy to say that Madeleine King is wrong.’ Is the federal Labor minister Madeleine King wrong because there is no gas to extract in Victoria?
Lily D’AMBROSIO (Mill Park – Minister for Climate Action, Minister for Energy and Resources, Minister for the State Electricity Commission) (14:22): I thank the member for the question. What I will say is that our commitment and our call, from this government, has always been that the national government, whatever colour it is, ought to have a domestic gas reserve policy in place. We are producing more gas than we actually need in this country, but the fact is too much of it is getting exported overseas at cheaper prices. In fact in some contracts it is actually being exported at cheaper prices than we are paying for it here in Victoria. Our interests are absolutely clear and our commitment has been really, really clear. We need to ensure that the more than sufficient supply that we do have nationally in the market is actually made available at a fair price to households and businesses that need it. That is what I look forward to – one day seeing that come to fruition. Just the other day I think Minister Bowen admitted that, if things had been different over the years, they would have potentially looked at the need for a gas reservation policy.
We are absolutely on the side of consumers. We want to make sure we have got sufficient supplies of electricity – that is why we are building record amounts of renewable energy to make sure that we continue to deliver the cheapest power bills in the national electricity market – and that we have sufficient supplies of gas to meet our needs. The reality is, geologically, Victoria’s gas reserves are running low. If anyone can find some gas here, I will be the first one to welcome them into Victoria to seek an exploration licence. If they can find any, that is fantastic. But the fact is, even if they can find any, the small amounts that are being found are in no way sufficient to meet the decline in reserves that is happening right now. I will take my advice from the experts any day. My advice from the experts any day puts geology above ideology every single day.
James NEWBURY (Brighton) (14:24): The minister has said on numerous occasions that Victorian Labor put geology ahead of ideology – and again. Why are the government putting their anti-gas ideology ahead of the evidence agreed to by the federal Labor government?
Lily D’AMBROSIO (Mill Park – Minister for Climate Action, Minister for Energy and Resources, Minister for the State Electricity Commission) (14:24): I thank the member for the supplementary question. I ask the member to provide this evidence. What is this evidence that is contrary to the market operator’s advice? What is this evidence that is contrary to the ACCC’s advice? What is this evidence that somehow means we have an El Dorado of gas reserves in Victoria for which this awful Victorian government is stopping people from coming forward to ask for and be given an exploration licence for? They can make it up because it suits them. But let us remind people about what it means to have confidence in the market and actually have an agenda rather than running scared. Who was it that put the moratorium in place in the first place in 2012 on fracking and coal seam gas? Who extended that to conventional gas towards the end of 2012? Who did that again in 2014? Those opposite – (Time expired)