The gas industry’s claims that domestic gas prices will fall if coal seam gas reserves are developed in NSW is nothing more than hot air, the Lock the Gate Alliance said today.
Responding to a report by ACIL Allen commissioned by energy giant ACL, Lock the Gate spokesperson George Woods said the link between the push to meet demands from the export gas industry and the hike in domestic prices were well established.
“Developing unsafe coal seam gas mines at Gloucester and Narrabri will do nothing to bring down the cost to domestic consumers of gas and the companies pushing to develop these resources know well that that is the case,” Ms Woods said.
“Even if Santos and AGL promised to keep prices down for domestic consumers and even if we could believe anything they said the subsequent loss in productive farmland, the need to import food to fill that shortage and the cost of remediating water supplies poisoned by gas mining would end up costing consumers vastly more at the supermarket check-out for fresh produce than any supposed savings the industry might “promise” to make on gas prices.
“The gas industry knows that its Achilles heel is the inevitable hike in domestic gas prices that will flow from the huge demand for export LNG being brought about by the overcapitalization of gas hubs in Queensland.
“These hungry export gas hubs simply can’t get enough to fill the contracts needed to keep them viable so the companies who have caused this problem now want to threaten the health, land and water of our nation by drilling into farmland and natural reserves to get every steric of available gas out of the ground.
“Unconventional gas mining is not clean, not safe and not necessary.
“We have enough conventional gas reserves in Australia to meet domestic demand and a sustainable export market. We don’t need to be putting our land, our water, our health and our future at risk to meet demands from overseas investors.
Ms Woods said the solution lay in legislation to protect Australian consumers and businesses from the price hikes and support for alternative sources of energy.
Contact: George Woods 0437 405 932