“We have a duty:” Hockey joins Woodside call for more gas, as Queensland vows to extend coal

Australia must cut the “red and green tape” around gas projects and allow more exploratory drilling to secure the nation’s energy and exports, a conference has been told, despite an election result endorsing a move to renewable energy. 

Former ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey and Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill were among presenters calling for policy changes at the Australian Energy Producers conference in Brisbane on Tuesday, which attracted more than 2000 attendees. 

Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki also used the event to declare the state’s energy future would remain based on coal, and pledged to extend the life of the state’s coal-fired power stations. 

The event comes as the gas industry awaits a verdict on whether Woodside will be allowed to extend its North West Shelf Project in Western Australia that is one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas sources.

Approving the project and other developments including Santos’ Narrabri Gas Project in NSW would be vital to addressing the nation’s energy needs and preventing gas shortfalls, Ms O’Neill said. 

“With the new federal parliament elected, it is an opportunity to finally cut red and green tape to simplify and streamline Australia’s approval system,” she said. 

Mining exploration should also be allowed to “resume in earnest in Australia,” she said, to allow companies to find opportunities for energy supply and export. 

Identifying additional gas and oil projects would be important for Australia’s international standing, Mr Hockey told the event from Singapore, and should be allowed with limited government intervention. 

“We have a duty to grow the oil and gas industry in Australia, to grow it for global consumption,” he said.

“We need to get back to some basic principles that if you have less regulation, if you have less onerous taxes and less tax then you are more likely to grow your economy.”

The calls for more gas projects come weeks after the re-election of the federal Labor government, which has a target of 82 per cent renewable energy in the national grid by 2030. 

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King told the conference the administration had heard the gas industry’s desire for faster approvals but would adopt a careful approach.

“The entire Australian government has heard your message that environment approvals that are complex and lengthy. Addressing this issue is a priority for this government,” she said.

“Commercial decisions and joint venture negotiations are also complex and lengthy and subject to change. Not all delays can be attributed to government regulation.”

While Ms King dismissed the coalition’s gas reservation policy during the election campaign as a “thought bubble,” she said the government would consider regulations to prevent gas shortages in the domestic market. 

But Queensland’s LNP government would take a more aggressive approach to using fossil fuels, Mr Janetzki told attendees, and would extend the use of gas and coal.

“(Coal-fired power stations) will remain open as long as it is economically sensible and systematically needed, not (closed on) an arbitrary date to fill a headline for a day,” he said. 

On Monday, the Queensland government cancelled the Moonlight Range Wind Farm proposed near Rockhampton that would have installed 88 wind turbines and generated enough energy to power 260,000 homes per year. 

AAP