❓ WA Premier Carpenter addresses concerns about energy security, criticising the federal government's lack of understanding regarding WA's reliance on natural gas and its economic importance. He defends the state's domestic gas reservation policy.
AnsweredQoN 697Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
NATURAL GAS - ENERGY SECURITY
Can the Premier please explain to the house how, despite evidence continuing to emerge of Western Australia’s reliance on natural gas, the federal government refuses to acknowledge or understand the economic importance of this fact? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
Can the Premier please explain to the house how, despite evidence continuing to emerge of Western Australia’s reliance on natural gas, the federal government refuses to acknowledge or understand the economic importance of this fact? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. This is one of the big issues confronting Western Australia at the moment; that is, energy security for the future. It is beyond belief, and quite amazing, that we have this hostile attitude from the federal government towards Western Australia’s ambition to secure its energy supplies for the future. Mr C.J. Barnett : Why is that surprising? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Good question. It is. One would think a responsible federal government would understand a couple of things. First, Western Australia’s economy is driving the national success at the moment. Nobody seems to dispute that. Second, Western Australia’s energy profile, indeed our whole economic profile, is not subtly different but dramatically different from the rest of Australia. We rely heavily on gas to fire our economy. About 60 per cent of our energy generation capacity is gas-fired thanks to some very good decisions that were made 20 to 30 years ago and carried forward by governments of both persuasions ever since. Mr P.D. Omodei : By Liberal governments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. This is one of the big issues confronting Western Australia at the moment; that is, energy security for the future. It is beyond belief, and quite amazing, that we have this hostile attitude from the federal government towards Western Australia’s ambition to secure its energy supplies for the future. Mr C.J. Barnett : Why is that surprising? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Good question. It is. One would think a responsible federal government would understand a couple of things. First, Western Australia’s economy is driving the national success at the moment. Nobody seems to dispute that. Second, Western Australia’s energy profile, indeed our whole economic profile, is not subtly different but dramatically different from the rest of Australia. We rely heavily on gas to fire our economy. About 60 per cent of our energy generation capacity is gas-fired thanks to some very good decisions that were made 20 to 30 years ago and carried forward by governments of both persuasions ever since. Mr P.D. Omodei : By Liberal governments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
I thank the member for the question. This is one of the big issues confronting Western Australia at the moment; that is, energy security for the future. It is beyond belief, and quite amazing, that we have this hostile attitude from the federal government towards Western Australia’s ambition to secure its energy supplies for the future. Mr C.J. Barnett : Why is that surprising? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Good question. It is. One would think a responsible federal government would understand a couple of things. First, Western Australia’s economy is driving the national success at the moment. Nobody seems to dispute that. Second, Western Australia’s energy profile, indeed our whole economic profile, is not subtly different but dramatically different from the rest of Australia. We rely heavily on gas to fire our economy. About 60 per cent of our energy generation capacity is gas-fired thanks to some very good decisions that were made 20 to 30 years ago and carried forward by governments of both persuasions ever since. Mr P.D. Omodei : By Liberal governments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr C.J. Barnett : Why is that surprising? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Good question. It is. One would think a responsible federal government would understand a couple of things. First, Western Australia’s economy is driving the national success at the moment. Nobody seems to dispute that. Second, Western Australia’s energy profile, indeed our whole economic profile, is not subtly different but dramatically different from the rest of Australia. We rely heavily on gas to fire our economy. About 60 per cent of our energy generation capacity is gas-fired thanks to some very good decisions that were made 20 to 30 years ago and carried forward by governments of both persuasions ever since. Mr P.D. Omodei : By Liberal governments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Good question. It is. One would think a responsible federal government would understand a couple of things. First, Western Australia’s economy is driving the national success at the moment. Nobody seems to dispute that. Second, Western Australia’s energy profile, indeed our whole economic profile, is not subtly different but dramatically different from the rest of Australia. We rely heavily on gas to fire our economy. About 60 per cent of our energy generation capacity is gas-fired thanks to some very good decisions that were made 20 to 30 years ago and carried forward by governments of both persuasions ever since. Mr P.D. Omodei : By Liberal governments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr P.D. Omodei : By Liberal governments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. This is one of the big issues confronting Western Australia at the moment; that is, energy security for the future. It is beyond belief, and quite amazing, that we have this hostile attitude from the federal government towards Western Australia’s ambition to secure its energy supplies for the future. Mr C.J. Barnett : Why is that surprising? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Good question. It is. One would think a responsible federal government would understand a couple of things. First, Western Australia’s economy is driving the national success at the moment. Nobody seems to dispute that. Second, Western Australia’s energy profile, indeed our whole economic profile, is not subtly different but dramatically different from the rest of Australia. We rely heavily on gas to fire our economy. About 60 per cent of our energy generation capacity is gas-fired thanks to some very good decisions that were made 20 to 30 years ago and carried forward by governments of both persuasions ever since. Mr P.D. Omodei : By Liberal governments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
I thank the member for the question. This is one of the big issues confronting Western Australia at the moment; that is, energy security for the future. It is beyond belief, and quite amazing, that we have this hostile attitude from the federal government towards Western Australia’s ambition to secure its energy supplies for the future. Mr C.J. Barnett : Why is that surprising? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Good question. It is. One would think a responsible federal government would understand a couple of things. First, Western Australia’s economy is driving the national success at the moment. Nobody seems to dispute that. Second, Western Australia’s energy profile, indeed our whole economic profile, is not subtly different but dramatically different from the rest of Australia. We rely heavily on gas to fire our economy. About 60 per cent of our energy generation capacity is gas-fired thanks to some very good decisions that were made 20 to 30 years ago and carried forward by governments of both persuasions ever since. Mr P.D. Omodei : By Liberal governments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr C.J. Barnett : Why is that surprising? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Good question. It is. One would think a responsible federal government would understand a couple of things. First, Western Australia’s economy is driving the national success at the moment. Nobody seems to dispute that. Second, Western Australia’s energy profile, indeed our whole economic profile, is not subtly different but dramatically different from the rest of Australia. We rely heavily on gas to fire our economy. About 60 per cent of our energy generation capacity is gas-fired thanks to some very good decisions that were made 20 to 30 years ago and carried forward by governments of both persuasions ever since. Mr P.D. Omodei : By Liberal governments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Good question. It is. One would think a responsible federal government would understand a couple of things. First, Western Australia’s economy is driving the national success at the moment. Nobody seems to dispute that. Second, Western Australia’s energy profile, indeed our whole economic profile, is not subtly different but dramatically different from the rest of Australia. We rely heavily on gas to fire our economy. About 60 per cent of our energy generation capacity is gas-fired thanks to some very good decisions that were made 20 to 30 years ago and carried forward by governments of both persuasions ever since. Mr P.D. Omodei : By Liberal governments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr P.D. Omodei : By Liberal governments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : By Sir Charles Court; I have said that here before. The federal government has absolutely no concept of the strategic significance to the Western Australian economy, and therefore the Australian economy, of access to domestic gas. Ian Macfarlane is carrying on in a way that can only be described as very destructive to the Western Australian economy. He has done it publicly in international forums in a most amazing and reprehensible way. This morning I was pleased to see that Wesfarmers has announced that it will develop a small but vitally important liquefied natural gas facility in the Kwinana area as a fuel for trucks and transport, I believe, which is very good. It is critical that Western Australia has access to sufficient supplies of gas in the future to fire our economy. Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Ian Macfarlane has said that he has spoken to two, although he changed that number to three, gas project proponents who have said that the Western Australian government’s domestic gas reservation policy will mean that their projects will not go ahead. I have also spoken to two proponents who have made similar comments. One of them said that we do not need a domestic gas reservation policy because there is so much gas out there, there is plenty for everybody. However, in the very next breath they also said that they have pre-committed every molecule of gas from their new gas field to an export buyer. That project will last for something like 15 to 20 years. In other words, 15 to 20 years after that project, not one molecule of gas will be available to the Western Australian economy. The other project proponent mentioned by Ian Macfarlane said the same thing to us. If every project proponent not only said the same thing to us but also behaved in the same way, there would not be one molecule of additional gas available for the Western Australian domestic economy. That would mean absolute disaster for the Western Australian domestic economy. That is why the government, as I understand supported by the opposition, has said to every one of these project proponents that we have a policy that requires energy security. We have a policy whereby between 10 to 20 per cent of domestic gas from the reserves around Western Australia, or the equivalent thereof from other reserves, will be made available to the Western Australian economy. Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr P.D. Omodei : What about trading? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, and trading, and any mechanism like that. I have said we would be flexible, and we would be because particular issues relate to particular projects. That policy is good for not only the Western Australian economy because it will establish our energy security for the next 30 to 40 to 50 years and in the absence of that policy, there will be no energy security, but also the national economy because what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. We cannot, as Queensland might be able to do, simply access power from South Australia if it was not available from Queensland, Victoria or New South Wales. We are on our own. We need to establish our own energy security. The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
The project proponents who refuse to abide by the policy will not get any sympathy or acceptance from the Western Australian government. As soon as we make an exception for one, we will have established a precedent which says there must be exceptions for everybody. The policy must apply to everybody. Instead of these project proponents running to Ian Macfarlane and getting him to threaten to intervene in state affairs, they should accept the policy, use the flexibility offer that has been made to them and come to a mutually agreeable solution with the Western Australian government which will establish the policy in principle and in reality for the Western Australian economy. Does the Leader of the Opposition support it? Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr P.D. Omodei : Have you got a policy in writing? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, we have told them what the policy is. It is important to be able to negotiate project by project. This is one of the most critical issues confronting the Western Australian government and the Western Australian economy at the moment and our position is correct.
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