SARAH FERGUSON: You're working on a new gas policy to get gas producers to direct more supply into the domestic market. The Coalition had previously ruled this out. How would it work?
They are important supplies to our allies for energy, but we do need to have more gas come on to address declining well production. SARAH FERGUSON: Give us some idea of the ambition of this policy. You're talking about them reserving a proportion of new gas only? Is that right?SARAH FERGUSON: So a proportion of new gas for domestic use. What kind of proportion? What are you looking for?SUSAN MCDONALD: In Government we had the Strategic Basins Plan. We're looking at places like the Cooper Basin, like the North Bowen, Galilee Basin, and the Beetaloo, of course.
SARAH FERGUSON: Just help me understand this because there is an existing mechanism to secure uncontracted gas for the domestic market when necessary. What's different about what you're proposing here? SUSAN MCDONALD: No, it doesn't. We previously were making annual releases of acreage offshore. That has stopped under this Government. We want to see that restart again.
SUSAN MCDONALD: Well, the Government, the current Government is not releasing new offshore acreage. So that is very different. We will return to releasing acreage. We'll return to approving projects in a timely manner.SARAH FERGUSON: Isn't a lot of that timeliness related to environmental approvals? SUSAN MCDONALD: Which is very soon but they are projecting that there will be gas shortfalls during the winter months in the following year and there will be absolute shortages in 2028.
SARAH FERGUSON: How can you be the honest brokers if you don't provide the costings for a very substantial new policy?SARAH FERGUSON: When? When will we see those?