Qld politics: State opens gas pipelines to drive down power bills

Nine new gas fields will open in Queensland as the state government moves to get more of the fuel out of the ground to drive down electricity bills. VOTE IN OUR POLL

Resources Minister Dale Last

Nine new gas fields will be opened up in Queensland as the state government signals a plan to cut red tape and get more of the fuel out of the ground in order to drive down electricity bills.

Resources Minister Dale Last will unlock 16,000sq km to explorers to tap into new gas reserves across major resource basins.

The area across the Cooper/Eromanga and Bowen/Surat basins will include conventional gas extraction methods, and more controversial coal seam gas.

It would radically increase the stock of available gas field exploration, adding to more than 20,000sq km of land that had been set aside since 2017 to bolster domestic supply.

The government assured the nine parcels of land would not intersect the Lake Eyre Basin – where new oil and gas developments were banned last year after a long review by the Labor government.

The state government will also announce a three-month land release review which would target transparency and efficiency in order to open more areas for gas exploration.

The review will look into the needs of the resources sector and balance them with agricultural, environmental, and community interests.

It is expected to address changes to land release and competitive tendering processes.

Mr Last said further exploration was vital in order to increase energy supply, which in turn would reduce prices.

He said the government aimed to adjust its regulatory framework so that Queensland would lead the way with energy security.

“Unscientific decisions made by the southern states have left Queensland carrying the load for the east coast gas market,” Mr Last said.

Australian Energy Producers CEO Samantha McCulloch said the further release of land was important to ensure future gas supply for Australian households.

She said the state government’s stance would increase economic growth and bolster billions in royalty dollars to fund essential services.

“Queensland is already doing the heavy lifting to keep the lights on and ensure reliable gas supply along the east coast of Australia,” she said.

An Australian Competition and Consumer Commissioner report in March noted the reliance of the southern states on Queensland gas to meet domestic shortfalls.

The state already was projected to have a surplus of up to 46 petajoules in the third quarter, depending on if uncontracted gas had been exported.