Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stared down fury from the gas industry over the government’s interventionist energy price relief laws, saying his bill would have no impact on their investment and warning them against talking down the sector.
Responding to the uproar from the sector, Albanese said the temporary cap would “do nothing whatsoever to inhibit investment”, pointing out that 96 per cent of gas contracts in 2021 were priced at under $12 a gigajoule. “If it doesn’t like your business, your profits or the prices you charge for your products and services, it will regulate you — and it will regulate you if the unions don’t like your business, your profits or the prices you charge,” Gallagher said.
The government championed the passage of the legislation as measures that would take the “sting” out of power price hikes for Australians next year, claiming household bills will increase by $230 a year less than the October budget forecast. But the Treasury modelling this calculation is based on has not been released.
Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said the legislation was flawed but necessary to “soften the blow to Australia from events in Europe,” but warned that price caps were not a long-term fix and energy were set to face significant cost increases next year.