MEDIA RELEASE - 10 April 2013

The Greens NSW spokesperson on mining Jeremy Buckingham welcomed industry acknowledgement that LNG exports from Queensland were the cause of future gas squeezes and price hikes, but said a domestic reservation of conventional gas resources from Moomba and Bass Straight was the answer, not drilling for coal seam gas and risking land, water and communities.

“Santos’ announcement that it would reserve future coal seam gas projects for NSW domestic use, is all smoke and mirrors, aimed at luring the public into supporting coal seam gas projects, while the gas companies divert conventional gas to LNG export, resulting in price hikes for domestic users,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.

“Australia is the only country in the world to allow unrestricted exports without reserving gas for domestic use. Australian governments need to look at developing an East Coast domestic gas reservation policy for conventional gas to ensure gas is available for domestic customers, as we make the transition to renewable energy sources.

“This is a crisis of the gas industry’s own making. They’ve forward contracted huge amounts of gas for export to Asian markets, and now expect Australian farmers and communities to suffer the consequences of coal seam gas.

“The three LNG export terminals being built in Gladstone, Queensland, will act like a giant vacuum, sucking up all available gas for export to Asian markets. This will have a significant impact on the availability and price of gas to domestic customers with consequential effects on economic activity and jobs.

“The answer is not to let the coal seam gas industry run riot over our farms, water and communities, but rather to implement a sensible domestic gas reservation policy to ensure less destructive conventional gas.”

Contact: Max Phillips - 9230 2202 or 0419 444 916