Millions of Victorians are caught up in this nasty and damaging spat between the government, the Greens and resources companies

Like most homeowners, I should not have to pay for a new hot water system, stove or heating to meet the government’s political timelines.

I have just bought a new house with gas heating and cooking.

In the eyes of the ideologically driven state government, this makes me part of the global climate change problem.

Well, ideology won’t keep us warm when the state stops us from using gas.

Instead of feeling good about my purchase, I’m worried about what this means in the future.

The ideologically driven state government wants to stop us using gas. Picture: David Beach

While we know new houses can no longer have gas connections, no reassurance is offered to the owners of existing houses with gas appliances.

It’s hard to know where we stand, given that less than a fortnight ago the government was secretly pushing ahead with plans to phase out gas despite its assurances to the contrary.

This will include bans on gas connections for new homes and restrictions on the replacement of existing appliances, such as the 20-year-old stove in my new house.

Gas users, who amount to eight in 10 homeowners, deserve to feel secure about energy supply and confident they can replace or repair existing appliances as they see fit.

No reassurance is offered to the owners of existing houses with gas appliances.

Like most homeowners, I should not have to pay for a new hot water system, stove or heating to meet the government’s political timelines, and nor should I have to, given that I legally purchased a house powered by gas.

Millions of Victorians are caught up in this nasty and damaging spat between the government, the Greens and resources companies. Even the Labor-controlled state and federal governments cannot agree on the best way forward.

The Allan state government has been forced into an embarrassing backdown, conceding that Victoria needs new gas supplies after spending years running down this powerful and important resource to suit its own political ends.

I’m not surprised that the gas industry is fighting back with a new campaign to target voters who rely on gas for basic household tasks. The campaign will focus on the need for homeowners to have choice about the source of their power.

I am not a climate change denier, and believe there should be a transition to renewable energy over the next few decades.

But the needs of householders who heat and eat using gas should be kept foremost in mind during this process.

Until there’s a better way, we need to know we can literally keep cooking with gas.