❓ The Premier addresses WA's domestic gas market, highlighting a new gas project and praising the federal government's support for domestic gas reservation, contrasting it with the previous federal government's stance.
AnsweredQoN 157Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DOMESTIC GAS MARKET
Will the Premier advise the house of the latest move in Western Australia’s domestic gas market? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
Will the Premier advise the house of the latest move in Western Australia’s domestic gas market? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. It is a very interesting and important issue for Western Australia. Of course, we have gone from another question about energy to energy security for the future. I was very heartened yesterday by a couple of things that emerged at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference in Western Australia. The first was the announcement that Apache Energy and Santos plan to build an $840 million natural gas project in Western Australia, which I think everybody in Western Australia would be pleased about. The Devil Creek project, which I think is some 60 to 80 kilometres south west of Karratha, in your electorate, Mr Speaker, will tap the Reindeer gas field in the Carnarvon Basin, with first gas targeted by the end of 2010. The project is expected to have a 20 to 30-year life span. The project is very significant for us and the future of Western Australia. The gas will be made available to the Western Australian domestic gas market via the Dampier to Bunbury gas pipeline. The new infrastructure in the area where there are known isolated gas reserves could be developed for the purpose of domestic gas from other fields as well. It is a very, very good development. The second part of what happened yesterday gave me even greater cause for optimism, and that was to hear new federal minister Martin Ferguson talking about the need for more domestic gas to be made available to the Western Australian economy. What a difference the change of government has made to the federal approach to this issue. I still believe, and I am hoping, that the Liberal Party at state level supports the domestic gas reservation policy. I would not sit there scoffing if I were the member for Roe. As I understand it, his party supports the domestic gas reservation policy and it vehemently opposed the position of the previous federal government. In all our approaches to the then federal government, I received good bipartisan support from this state opposition at the time, for which I was grateful. What a change from Ian McFarlane when he was minister, when he castigated Western Australia in public forums, in front of the world’s producers, for daring to require some gas to be reserved for our own domestic economy. He took that attitude around the world with him, telling people that Western Australia was not a good place in which to invest because the state government was requiring some gas to be reserved for its domestic economy he failed to recognise, of course, all the different factors that are at play in the relative energy markets in Western Australia compared with the eastern states, or that Western Australia was basically generating much of the wealth that allowed his government to produce the budget surpluses and tax cuts that were a hallmark of the Howard regime, run off the back of revenues obtained out of Western Australia. The previous federal government failed to understand the importance of the Western Australian contribution to the national economy. What a relief it is that we now have a national government that not only recognises the importance of Western Australian domestic gas for the energy market and industry in Western Australia, but also makes its support known and talks about the possibility of taking back the leases from oil and gas companies if they fail to bring them onto commercial operation when they are viable. I think that is potentially a very powerful tool for the Western Australian and national economies. I congratulate federal minister Martin Ferguson for the position that he has taken on this issue. I think it is long overdue and will do a lot to support the growth of the Western Australian economy into the future.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. It is a very interesting and important issue for Western Australia. Of course, we have gone from another question about energy to energy security for the future. I was very heartened yesterday by a couple of things that emerged at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference in Western Australia. The first was the announcement that Apache Energy and Santos plan to build an $840 million natural gas project in Western Australia, which I think everybody in Western Australia would be pleased about. The Devil Creek project, which I think is some 60 to 80 kilometres south west of Karratha, in your electorate, Mr Speaker, will tap the Reindeer gas field in the Carnarvon Basin, with first gas targeted by the end of 2010. The project is expected to have a 20 to 30-year life span. The project is very significant for us and the future of Western Australia. The gas will be made available to the Western Australian domestic gas market via the Dampier to Bunbury gas pipeline. The new infrastructure in the area where there are known isolated gas reserves could be developed for the purpose of domestic gas from other fields as well. It is a very, very good development. The second part of what happened yesterday gave me even greater cause for optimism, and that was to hear new federal minister Martin Ferguson talking about the need for more domestic gas to be made available to the Western Australian economy. What a difference the change of government has made to the federal approach to this issue. I still believe, and I am hoping, that the Liberal Party at state level supports the domestic gas reservation policy. I would not sit there scoffing if I were the member for Roe. As I understand it, his party supports the domestic gas reservation policy and it vehemently opposed the position of the previous federal government. In all our approaches to the then federal government, I received good bipartisan support from this state opposition at the time, for which I was grateful. What a change from Ian McFarlane when he was minister, when he castigated Western Australia in public forums, in front of the world’s producers, for daring to require some gas to be reserved for our own domestic economy. He took that attitude around the world with him, telling people that Western Australia was not a good place in which to invest because the state government was requiring some gas to be reserved for its domestic economy he failed to recognise, of course, all the different factors that are at play in the relative energy markets in Western Australia compared with the eastern states, or that Western Australia was basically generating much of the wealth that allowed his government to produce the budget surpluses and tax cuts that were a hallmark of the Howard regime, run off the back of revenues obtained out of Western Australia. The previous federal government failed to understand the importance of the Western Australian contribution to the national economy. What a relief it is that we now have a national government that not only recognises the importance of Western Australian domestic gas for the energy market and industry in Western Australia, but also makes its support known and talks about the possibility of taking back the leases from oil and gas companies if they fail to bring them onto commercial operation when they are viable. I think that is potentially a very powerful tool for the Western Australian and national economies. I congratulate federal minister Martin Ferguson for the position that he has taken on this issue. I think it is long overdue and will do a lot to support the growth of the Western Australian economy into the future.
I thank the member for the question. It is a very interesting and important issue for Western Australia. Of course, we have gone from another question about energy to energy security for the future. I was very heartened yesterday by a couple of things that emerged at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference in Western Australia. The first was the announcement that Apache Energy and Santos plan to build an $840 million natural gas project in Western Australia, which I think everybody in Western Australia would be pleased about. The Devil Creek project, which I think is some 60 to 80 kilometres south west of Karratha, in your electorate, Mr Speaker, will tap the Reindeer gas field in the Carnarvon Basin, with first gas targeted by the end of 2010. The project is expected to have a 20 to 30-year life span. The project is very significant for us and the future of Western Australia. The gas will be made available to the Western Australian domestic gas market via the Dampier to Bunbury gas pipeline. The new infrastructure in the area where there are known isolated gas reserves could be developed for the purpose of domestic gas from other fields as well. It is a very, very good development. The second part of what happened yesterday gave me even greater cause for optimism, and that was to hear new federal minister Martin Ferguson talking about the need for more domestic gas to be made available to the Western Australian economy. What a difference the change of government has made to the federal approach to this issue. I still believe, and I am hoping, that the Liberal Party at state level supports the domestic gas reservation policy. I would not sit there scoffing if I were the member for Roe. As I understand it, his party supports the domestic gas reservation policy and it vehemently opposed the position of the previous federal government. In all our approaches to the then federal government, I received good bipartisan support from this state opposition at the time, for which I was grateful. What a change from Ian McFarlane when he was minister, when he castigated Western Australia in public forums, in front of the world’s producers, for daring to require some gas to be reserved for our own domestic economy. He took that attitude around the world with him, telling people that Western Australia was not a good place in which to invest because the state government was requiring some gas to be reserved for its domestic economy he failed to recognise, of course, all the different factors that are at play in the relative energy markets in Western Australia compared with the eastern states, or that Western Australia was basically generating much of the wealth that allowed his government to produce the budget surpluses and tax cuts that were a hallmark of the Howard regime, run off the back of revenues obtained out of Western Australia. The previous federal government failed to understand the importance of the Western Australian contribution to the national economy. What a relief it is that we now have a national government that not only recognises the importance of Western Australian domestic gas for the energy market and industry in Western Australia, but also makes its support known and talks about the possibility of taking back the leases from oil and gas companies if they fail to bring them onto commercial operation when they are viable. I think that is potentially a very powerful tool for the Western Australian and national economies. I congratulate federal minister Martin Ferguson for the position that he has taken on this issue. I think it is long overdue and will do a lot to support the growth of the Western Australian economy into the future.
The second part of what happened yesterday gave me even greater cause for optimism, and that was to hear new federal minister Martin Ferguson talking about the need for more domestic gas to be made available to the Western Australian economy. What a difference the change of government has made to the federal approach to this issue. I still believe, and I am hoping, that the Liberal Party at state level supports the domestic gas reservation policy. I would not sit there scoffing if I were the member for Roe. As I understand it, his party supports the domestic gas reservation policy and it vehemently opposed the position of the previous federal government. In all our approaches to the then federal government, I received good bipartisan support from this state opposition at the time, for which I was grateful. What a change from Ian McFarlane when he was minister, when he castigated Western Australia in public forums, in front of the world’s producers, for daring to require some gas to be reserved for our own domestic economy. He took that attitude around the world with him, telling people that Western Australia was not a good place in which to invest because the state government was requiring some gas to be reserved for its domestic economy he failed to recognise, of course, all the different factors that are at play in the relative energy markets in Western Australia compared with the eastern states, or that Western Australia was basically generating much of the wealth that allowed his government to produce the budget surpluses and tax cuts that were a hallmark of the Howard regime, run off the back of revenues obtained out of Western Australia. The previous federal government failed to understand the importance of the Western Australian contribution to the national economy. What a relief it is that we now have a national government that not only recognises the importance of Western Australian domestic gas for the energy market and industry in Western Australia, but also makes its support known and talks about the possibility of taking back the leases from oil and gas companies if they fail to bring them onto commercial operation when they are viable. I think that is potentially a very powerful tool for the Western Australian and national economies. I congratulate federal minister Martin Ferguson for the position that he has taken on this issue. I think it is long overdue and will do a lot to support the growth of the Western Australian economy into the future.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. It is a very interesting and important issue for Western Australia. Of course, we have gone from another question about energy to energy security for the future. I was very heartened yesterday by a couple of things that emerged at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference in Western Australia. The first was the announcement that Apache Energy and Santos plan to build an $840 million natural gas project in Western Australia, which I think everybody in Western Australia would be pleased about. The Devil Creek project, which I think is some 60 to 80 kilometres south west of Karratha, in your electorate, Mr Speaker, will tap the Reindeer gas field in the Carnarvon Basin, with first gas targeted by the end of 2010. The project is expected to have a 20 to 30-year life span. The project is very significant for us and the future of Western Australia. The gas will be made available to the Western Australian domestic gas market via the Dampier to Bunbury gas pipeline. The new infrastructure in the area where there are known isolated gas reserves could be developed for the purpose of domestic gas from other fields as well. It is a very, very good development. The second part of what happened yesterday gave me even greater cause for optimism, and that was to hear new federal minister Martin Ferguson talking about the need for more domestic gas to be made available to the Western Australian economy. What a difference the change of government has made to the federal approach to this issue. I still believe, and I am hoping, that the Liberal Party at state level supports the domestic gas reservation policy. I would not sit there scoffing if I were the member for Roe. As I understand it, his party supports the domestic gas reservation policy and it vehemently opposed the position of the previous federal government. In all our approaches to the then federal government, I received good bipartisan support from this state opposition at the time, for which I was grateful. What a change from Ian McFarlane when he was minister, when he castigated Western Australia in public forums, in front of the world’s producers, for daring to require some gas to be reserved for our own domestic economy. He took that attitude around the world with him, telling people that Western Australia was not a good place in which to invest because the state government was requiring some gas to be reserved for its domestic economy he failed to recognise, of course, all the different factors that are at play in the relative energy markets in Western Australia compared with the eastern states, or that Western Australia was basically generating much of the wealth that allowed his government to produce the budget surpluses and tax cuts that were a hallmark of the Howard regime, run off the back of revenues obtained out of Western Australia. The previous federal government failed to understand the importance of the Western Australian contribution to the national economy. What a relief it is that we now have a national government that not only recognises the importance of Western Australian domestic gas for the energy market and industry in Western Australia, but also makes its support known and talks about the possibility of taking back the leases from oil and gas companies if they fail to bring them onto commercial operation when they are viable. I think that is potentially a very powerful tool for the Western Australian and national economies. I congratulate federal minister Martin Ferguson for the position that he has taken on this issue. I think it is long overdue and will do a lot to support the growth of the Western Australian economy into the future.
I thank the member for the question. It is a very interesting and important issue for Western Australia. Of course, we have gone from another question about energy to energy security for the future. I was very heartened yesterday by a couple of things that emerged at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference in Western Australia. The first was the announcement that Apache Energy and Santos plan to build an $840 million natural gas project in Western Australia, which I think everybody in Western Australia would be pleased about. The Devil Creek project, which I think is some 60 to 80 kilometres south west of Karratha, in your electorate, Mr Speaker, will tap the Reindeer gas field in the Carnarvon Basin, with first gas targeted by the end of 2010. The project is expected to have a 20 to 30-year life span. The project is very significant for us and the future of Western Australia. The gas will be made available to the Western Australian domestic gas market via the Dampier to Bunbury gas pipeline. The new infrastructure in the area where there are known isolated gas reserves could be developed for the purpose of domestic gas from other fields as well. It is a very, very good development. The second part of what happened yesterday gave me even greater cause for optimism, and that was to hear new federal minister Martin Ferguson talking about the need for more domestic gas to be made available to the Western Australian economy. What a difference the change of government has made to the federal approach to this issue. I still believe, and I am hoping, that the Liberal Party at state level supports the domestic gas reservation policy. I would not sit there scoffing if I were the member for Roe. As I understand it, his party supports the domestic gas reservation policy and it vehemently opposed the position of the previous federal government. In all our approaches to the then federal government, I received good bipartisan support from this state opposition at the time, for which I was grateful. What a change from Ian McFarlane when he was minister, when he castigated Western Australia in public forums, in front of the world’s producers, for daring to require some gas to be reserved for our own domestic economy. He took that attitude around the world with him, telling people that Western Australia was not a good place in which to invest because the state government was requiring some gas to be reserved for its domestic economy he failed to recognise, of course, all the different factors that are at play in the relative energy markets in Western Australia compared with the eastern states, or that Western Australia was basically generating much of the wealth that allowed his government to produce the budget surpluses and tax cuts that were a hallmark of the Howard regime, run off the back of revenues obtained out of Western Australia. The previous federal government failed to understand the importance of the Western Australian contribution to the national economy. What a relief it is that we now have a national government that not only recognises the importance of Western Australian domestic gas for the energy market and industry in Western Australia, but also makes its support known and talks about the possibility of taking back the leases from oil and gas companies if they fail to bring them onto commercial operation when they are viable. I think that is potentially a very powerful tool for the Western Australian and national economies. I congratulate federal minister Martin Ferguson for the position that he has taken on this issue. I think it is long overdue and will do a lot to support the growth of the Western Australian economy into the future.
The second part of what happened yesterday gave me even greater cause for optimism, and that was to hear new federal minister Martin Ferguson talking about the need for more domestic gas to be made available to the Western Australian economy. What a difference the change of government has made to the federal approach to this issue. I still believe, and I am hoping, that the Liberal Party at state level supports the domestic gas reservation policy. I would not sit there scoffing if I were the member for Roe. As I understand it, his party supports the domestic gas reservation policy and it vehemently opposed the position of the previous federal government. In all our approaches to the then federal government, I received good bipartisan support from this state opposition at the time, for which I was grateful. What a change from Ian McFarlane when he was minister, when he castigated Western Australia in public forums, in front of the world’s producers, for daring to require some gas to be reserved for our own domestic economy. He took that attitude around the world with him, telling people that Western Australia was not a good place in which to invest because the state government was requiring some gas to be reserved for its domestic economy he failed to recognise, of course, all the different factors that are at play in the relative energy markets in Western Australia compared with the eastern states, or that Western Australia was basically generating much of the wealth that allowed his government to produce the budget surpluses and tax cuts that were a hallmark of the Howard regime, run off the back of revenues obtained out of Western Australia. The previous federal government failed to understand the importance of the Western Australian contribution to the national economy. What a relief it is that we now have a national government that not only recognises the importance of Western Australian domestic gas for the energy market and industry in Western Australia, but also makes its support known and talks about the possibility of taking back the leases from oil and gas companies if they fail to bring them onto commercial operation when they are viable. I think that is potentially a very powerful tool for the Western Australian and national economies. I congratulate federal minister Martin Ferguson for the position that he has taken on this issue. I think it is long overdue and will do a lot to support the growth of the Western Australian economy into the future.
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