❓ Premier Carpenter updates the house on resources development, highlighting Woodside's Pluto LNG project and criticising federal minister Macfarlane's negative comments on WA's domestic gas policy. He emphasizes the project's economic benefits and domestic gas reservation.
AnsweredQoN 342Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT
Can the Premier please update the house on the latest resources development in Western Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
Can the Premier please update the house on the latest resources development in Western Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
AnswerView source ↗
I can, and I thank the member for asking the question and for his advocacy of the issues at Warmun. There has been an attempt made to address these issues, at least in part, and we hope that it is successful. Western Australia has a very strong and robust economy, for which we are very fortunate. I was very pleased to be advised recently by Mr Don Voelte, the chief executive officer of Woodside Pty Ltd, that the board of Woodside had approved the development of the Pluto liquefied natural gas project off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast. Obviously, that is a very significant project. The Pluto project is the largest single investment by one company in Australia’s resources sector. In its development stage, the Pluto project will create up to 3 000 jobs during construction and approximately 300 additional jobs on an ongoing basis. Obviously, that will provide very significant opportunities for local businesses in the Pilbara and for the broader Western Australian economy. More than half of the $11.2 billion of capital expenditure for the project will be spent in Australia. Woodside expects the two trains of the project to generate more than $28 billion for Western Australia’s economy and to provide approximately $8.5 billion in revenue to the Australian government. Gas will be reserved for the domestic market. I am very pleased about that, and I think everybody is. There has been good support in broad terms across politics at a Western Australian local level for our domestic gas policy. This is a return on that support. Through the Pluto project, Woodside is committed to providing up to 15 per cent of that gas for domestic consumption. That is a very big achievement for Western Australia that will help provide for, but will not solve, our long-term energy security for the future. Mr P.D. Omodei : When will that gas become available? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Five years after production begins, to take account of the up-front costs. I said that it would help. Mr P.D. Omodei : What year would that be? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I can, and I thank the member for asking the question and for his advocacy of the issues at Warmun. There has been an attempt made to address these issues, at least in part, and we hope that it is successful. Western Australia has a very strong and robust economy, for which we are very fortunate. I was very pleased to be advised recently by Mr Don Voelte, the chief executive officer of Woodside Pty Ltd, that the board of Woodside had approved the development of the Pluto liquefied natural gas project off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast. Obviously, that is a very significant project. The Pluto project is the largest single investment by one company in Australia’s resources sector. In its development stage, the Pluto project will create up to 3 000 jobs during construction and approximately 300 additional jobs on an ongoing basis. Obviously, that will provide very significant opportunities for local businesses in the Pilbara and for the broader Western Australian economy. More than half of the $11.2 billion of capital expenditure for the project will be spent in Australia. Woodside expects the two trains of the project to generate more than $28 billion for Western Australia’s economy and to provide approximately $8.5 billion in revenue to the Australian government. Gas will be reserved for the domestic market. I am very pleased about that, and I think everybody is. There has been good support in broad terms across politics at a Western Australian local level for our domestic gas policy. This is a return on that support. Through the Pluto project, Woodside is committed to providing up to 15 per cent of that gas for domestic consumption. That is a very big achievement for Western Australia that will help provide for, but will not solve, our long-term energy security for the future. Mr P.D. Omodei : When will that gas become available? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Five years after production begins, to take account of the up-front costs. I said that it would help. Mr P.D. Omodei : What year would that be? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
I can, and I thank the member for asking the question and for his advocacy of the issues at Warmun. There has been an attempt made to address these issues, at least in part, and we hope that it is successful. Western Australia has a very strong and robust economy, for which we are very fortunate. I was very pleased to be advised recently by Mr Don Voelte, the chief executive officer of Woodside Pty Ltd, that the board of Woodside had approved the development of the Pluto liquefied natural gas project off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast. Obviously, that is a very significant project. The Pluto project is the largest single investment by one company in Australia’s resources sector. In its development stage, the Pluto project will create up to 3 000 jobs during construction and approximately 300 additional jobs on an ongoing basis. Obviously, that will provide very significant opportunities for local businesses in the Pilbara and for the broader Western Australian economy. More than half of the $11.2 billion of capital expenditure for the project will be spent in Australia. Woodside expects the two trains of the project to generate more than $28 billion for Western Australia’s economy and to provide approximately $8.5 billion in revenue to the Australian government. Gas will be reserved for the domestic market. I am very pleased about that, and I think everybody is. There has been good support in broad terms across politics at a Western Australian local level for our domestic gas policy. This is a return on that support. Through the Pluto project, Woodside is committed to providing up to 15 per cent of that gas for domestic consumption. That is a very big achievement for Western Australia that will help provide for, but will not solve, our long-term energy security for the future. Mr P.D. Omodei : When will that gas become available? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Five years after production begins, to take account of the up-front costs. I said that it would help. Mr P.D. Omodei : What year would that be? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
Mr P.D. Omodei : When will that gas become available? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Five years after production begins, to take account of the up-front costs. I said that it would help. Mr P.D. Omodei : What year would that be? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Five years after production begins, to take account of the up-front costs. I said that it would help. Mr P.D. Omodei : What year would that be? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
Mr P.D. Omodei : What year would that be? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I can, and I thank the member for asking the question and for his advocacy of the issues at Warmun. There has been an attempt made to address these issues, at least in part, and we hope that it is successful. Western Australia has a very strong and robust economy, for which we are very fortunate. I was very pleased to be advised recently by Mr Don Voelte, the chief executive officer of Woodside Pty Ltd, that the board of Woodside had approved the development of the Pluto liquefied natural gas project off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast. Obviously, that is a very significant project. The Pluto project is the largest single investment by one company in Australia’s resources sector. In its development stage, the Pluto project will create up to 3 000 jobs during construction and approximately 300 additional jobs on an ongoing basis. Obviously, that will provide very significant opportunities for local businesses in the Pilbara and for the broader Western Australian economy. More than half of the $11.2 billion of capital expenditure for the project will be spent in Australia. Woodside expects the two trains of the project to generate more than $28 billion for Western Australia’s economy and to provide approximately $8.5 billion in revenue to the Australian government. Gas will be reserved for the domestic market. I am very pleased about that, and I think everybody is. There has been good support in broad terms across politics at a Western Australian local level for our domestic gas policy. This is a return on that support. Through the Pluto project, Woodside is committed to providing up to 15 per cent of that gas for domestic consumption. That is a very big achievement for Western Australia that will help provide for, but will not solve, our long-term energy security for the future. Mr P.D. Omodei : When will that gas become available? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Five years after production begins, to take account of the up-front costs. I said that it would help. Mr P.D. Omodei : What year would that be? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
I can, and I thank the member for asking the question and for his advocacy of the issues at Warmun. There has been an attempt made to address these issues, at least in part, and we hope that it is successful. Western Australia has a very strong and robust economy, for which we are very fortunate. I was very pleased to be advised recently by Mr Don Voelte, the chief executive officer of Woodside Pty Ltd, that the board of Woodside had approved the development of the Pluto liquefied natural gas project off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast. Obviously, that is a very significant project. The Pluto project is the largest single investment by one company in Australia’s resources sector. In its development stage, the Pluto project will create up to 3 000 jobs during construction and approximately 300 additional jobs on an ongoing basis. Obviously, that will provide very significant opportunities for local businesses in the Pilbara and for the broader Western Australian economy. More than half of the $11.2 billion of capital expenditure for the project will be spent in Australia. Woodside expects the two trains of the project to generate more than $28 billion for Western Australia’s economy and to provide approximately $8.5 billion in revenue to the Australian government. Gas will be reserved for the domestic market. I am very pleased about that, and I think everybody is. There has been good support in broad terms across politics at a Western Australian local level for our domestic gas policy. This is a return on that support. Through the Pluto project, Woodside is committed to providing up to 15 per cent of that gas for domestic consumption. That is a very big achievement for Western Australia that will help provide for, but will not solve, our long-term energy security for the future. Mr P.D. Omodei : When will that gas become available? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Five years after production begins, to take account of the up-front costs. I said that it would help. Mr P.D. Omodei : What year would that be? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
Mr P.D. Omodei : When will that gas become available? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Five years after production begins, to take account of the up-front costs. I said that it would help. Mr P.D. Omodei : What year would that be? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Five years after production begins, to take account of the up-front costs. I said that it would help. Mr P.D. Omodei : What year would that be? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
Mr P.D. Omodei : What year would that be? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The aim is to get the gas in production by 2010. The Leader of the Opposition can work it out. It is not the only development that we need, but it is a very significant development, particularly in the face of the commentary we have had from the federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane. “Foolish” would probably be a generous description of the way he has commented on this project. He predicted that the project would not occur and he urged people at an international investment conference in Western Australia not to invest in the oil and gas sector in Western Australia because of our domestic gas policy. That potentially put at risk our economic strength in Western Australia. Seemingly, he does not understand that what is good for the Western Australian economy is good for the national economy. If it was not for the Western Australian economy, people like Ian Macfarlane would have a completely different view of life. He is the same minister who thinks that securing energy is apparently something that all other countries in the world should do, bar his own. As I said, that is a very foolish approach. I am grateful that we have been able to get such good cooperation from Woodside. Some points had to be negotiated and dealt with along the way, as is usual with these types of projects, but it is good that the project has got to this point. As Woodside is a Western Australian company, the project reflects extremely well on Woodside’s view of the strength of the Western Australian economy and how it is managed. It also presents to the rest of the world an equally positive and optimistic picture.
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