❓ Mr. Redman questions the Premier on the progress of the Albany gas pipeline extension promised in the 2005 election, and its priority relative to a proposed west-east pipeline. The Premier responds that commercial viability is key and no viable proposal has been put forward.
AnsweredQoN 21Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
EXTENSION OF DAMPIER TO BUNBURY NATURAL GAS PIPELINE
I refer to the Premier’s decision to raise the prospect of a west-east gas pipeline with the Prime Minister at the recent Council of Australian Governments meeting. (1) Does the Premier recall the promise in Labor’s 2005 election policy of building a better future for Albany, by starting planning to establish a pipeline corridor for the extension of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline from Australind to Albany? (2) Which of the pipeline projects is a higher priority for the Carpenter government? (3) Given that the pipeline will be a catalyst for investment, development and job creation in this state, has planning begun? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
I refer to the Premier’s decision to raise the prospect of a west-east gas pipeline with the Prime Minister at the recent Council of Australian Governments meeting. (1) Does the Premier recall the promise in Labor’s 2005 election policy of building a better future for Albany, by starting planning to establish a pipeline corridor for the extension of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline from Australind to Albany? (2) Which of the pipeline projects is a higher priority for the Carpenter government? (3) Given that the pipeline will be a catalyst for investment, development and job creation in this state, has planning begun? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) In the last part of the question was the member talking about the planning for the pipeline to Albany? Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
(1) Does the Premier recall the promise in Labor’s 2005 election policy of building a better future for Albany, by starting planning to establish a pipeline corridor for the extension of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline from Australind to Albany? (2) Which of the pipeline projects is a higher priority for the Carpenter government? (3) Given that the pipeline will be a catalyst for investment, development and job creation in this state, has planning begun? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(3) In the last part of the question was the member talking about the planning for the pipeline to Albany? Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
(2) Which of the pipeline projects is a higher priority for the Carpenter government? (3) Given that the pipeline will be a catalyst for investment, development and job creation in this state, has planning begun? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(3) In the last part of the question was the member talking about the planning for the pipeline to Albany? Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
(3) Given that the pipeline will be a catalyst for investment, development and job creation in this state, has planning begun? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(3) In the last part of the question was the member talking about the planning for the pipeline to Albany? Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(3) In the last part of the question was the member talking about the planning for the pipeline to Albany? Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
(1)-(3) In the last part of the question was the member talking about the planning for the pipeline to Albany? Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
(1) Does the Premier recall the promise in Labor’s 2005 election policy of building a better future for Albany, by starting planning to establish a pipeline corridor for the extension of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline from Australind to Albany? (2) Which of the pipeline projects is a higher priority for the Carpenter government? (3) Given that the pipeline will be a catalyst for investment, development and job creation in this state, has planning begun? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(3) In the last part of the question was the member talking about the planning for the pipeline to Albany? Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
(2) Which of the pipeline projects is a higher priority for the Carpenter government? (3) Given that the pipeline will be a catalyst for investment, development and job creation in this state, has planning begun? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(3) In the last part of the question was the member talking about the planning for the pipeline to Albany? Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
(3) Given that the pipeline will be a catalyst for investment, development and job creation in this state, has planning begun? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(3) In the last part of the question was the member talking about the planning for the pipeline to Albany? Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(3) In the last part of the question was the member talking about the planning for the pipeline to Albany? Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
(1)-(3) In the last part of the question was the member talking about the planning for the pipeline to Albany? Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr D.T. Redman : Yes. It was an election commitment. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : As Minister for Energy and Minister for State Development last year, I had two and maybe three meetings with proponents Alinta and others, and the Great Southern Development Corporation people. I think the view that was universally accepted was that the underpinning of this project had first to be commercial viability. In the absence of commercial viability, nothing much would be able to be taken forward. I know that the Liberal government at the last election had a different policy, which was to put the pipeline down there. That was the position. I believe that subsequent to those conversations I had with the proponents, no work has been done on the pipeline corridor because no viable proposition was put forward. Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr C.J. Barnett : Your government stopped the work on the corridor. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That may well be the case. I am giving my best recollection of it. Did the member say that it was a 2001 or 2005 election commitment? Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr D.T. Redman : It was 2005. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That is my best recollection. In relation to the transnational west-east pipeline suggestion, I did raise it with the Prime Minister directly. Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr C.J. Barnett : It is a good idea. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Kalgoorlie might know where this is going. It is terrible when one sees division in the ranks like this. I thought it happened only on our side of the house. I had a meeting with the Prime Minister and raised with him the possibility of a west-east pipeline. He was interested in it, and we had an engaging conversation. We also talked about other matters to which I referred yesterday. I then raised the matter in the COAG meeting itself, to tell the other Premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in the Prime Minister’s presence that we had had that conversation and that it was a concept that I thought, in the best interests of Australian national strategic planning, we should pursue to see whether there is some viability to it. The only assessment I have ever seen was the Wood Mackenzie report of 2004, which thought it a reasonable possibility six to eight years hence, which would just about be the planning and construction time if we were to start now. The Prime Minister was asked about it directly. I think he said something like it being a terrific idea, obviously in furious agreement with the member for Cottesloe. I was disappointed yesterday to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I was very disappointed. It is not ridiculous. Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr M.J. Birney : The state would get twice as much selling gas overseas as it could in the domestic market. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : That was the rationale the Leader of the Opposition used. Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr M.J. Birney : Who are you going to force to sell their gas into this pipeline? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Other than liquefied natural gas, which is the gas we ship out, there is the domestic gas supply, not all of which is alternative to the LNG supply. Apache Energy Ltd and other gas suppliers are putting gas into the pipeline. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the state has the Gorgon project coming along with 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is a vast resource of gas under the seabed off the state’s north west coast. Only so much capacity is available for LNG to be shipped out. If we can stimulate the domestic market, there is quite possibly an economically viable market for gas supplies in Western Australia and in Australia. Gas suppliers to the rest of Australia are diminishing. As the member for Cottesloe has mentioned before, the alternative that is being looked at is a pipeline from Papua New Guinea. Why would the Australian government promote a pipeline from PNG, on very favourable terms I might say, and not consider a domestic west-east pipeline? It would be a wonderful piece of national infrastructure, and not only open up all sorts of possibilities for development in the interior of Australia, but also provide domestic gas for the rest of Australia. People can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can have the LNG industry and the domestic gas industry; the two are not mutually exclusive.
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