Manufacturing Australia has said that the transition to exports from large-scale LNG developments on the east coast could be “devastating” for industry.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Ben Eade, Manufacturing Australia’s new executive director, said that while exports would be beneficial for the Australian economy, the industry needed some kind of “bridge” to manage a potentially difficult transition.
“We want to see a manufacturing resurgence in Australia like we’re seeing in the U.S.,” said Eade, whose appointment as the group’s first executive director was announced today.
“We have huge gas resources, and if we target them properly there is no reason we can’t do that here.”
Manufacturing Australia was established in 2011, and last year was one of the strongest advocates for intervention in the area of energy policy in Australia.
The industry lobby group has advocated a five per cent domestic gas reservation for manufacturers, and chairman Sue Morphet has warned that 200,000 jobs would be at risk if action was not taken.
Last week the debate on gas availability in the future was re-started, according to The Australian.
Key contracts with AGL end in 2017, with sharp increases in prices tipped as exports from major east coast projects come online.
According to AGL’s chief economist Paul Simshauser, there was “a lot of gas down in Bass Strait”, but transporting it north was an issue. He also suggested biases in winter use and day-to-day and week-to-week consumption needed to be considered.
Gas developers do not welcome any interference in gas supply, arguing that the problem of supply can be eased by reducing restrictions on exploration.
Image: actiononcoalandgas.org
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