Gina Rinehart says she can disagree with Peter Dutton over energy policy and sustain friendship
Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, has cleared up differences with opposition leader Peter Dutton, with their alliance tested by the Coalition’s energy policy unveiled last week.
Iron ore billionaire Gina Rinehart says she respects Coalition leader Peter Dutton “irrespective of our various differences” after his energy policy proposed government interference in the gas market which she is vehemently opposed to.
Australia’s richest person is not a supporter of such meddling, which put her at odds with Mr Dutton’s reservation scheme unveiled last week.
Mrs Rinehart on Friday denied the policy had led to a souring of relations between the pair.
“My friendship with Peter Dutton existed before he became Leader of the Opposition,” she said.
“The beauty of the non-left side of politics, indeed around the world, is that people can disagree on issues at times and still remain good friends.
“My respect for Peter Dutton, his character and integrity continues, irrespective of our various differences at times.”
The speculation that Mrs Rinehart was unhappy with Mr Dutton over his gas policy was sparked by her private company, Hancock Prospecting, re-posting media reports critical of the proposed domestic reservation measure on its website.
“Briefly, my views on government interference in gas or any commodities was not because of our gas interests, which in any event, we do not currently expect to be effected by the policy announced in the budget response,” Mrs Rinehart said.
Her comments were published next to a report documenting industry concerns about the Coalition reservation policy.
The Dutton plan aimed at bringing down prices would compel exporters based on the east coast to direct 10-20 per cent more gas into the domestic market. The policy anticipates the extra supply would come from uncontracted gas sold on international spot markets.
Mr Dutton has said the policy could lead to wholesale gas prices falling to less than $10 a gigajoule from $14 before the end of the year, but has not provided details on how it would work.
Industry sources speculated this week that the billionaire’s concerns were over broader fears that a fresh intervention in the sector would damage appetite for investment.
Mrs Rinehart owns 50 per cent of Queensland’s Senex Energy, which supplies gas to the domestic market and has also sold volumes to the Santos-led GLNG export project in Gladstone.
Senex in 2022 put its $1bn Atlas expansion project on ice amid uncertainty over the Albanese government’s $12/GJ price cap intervention.
It said the new laws “could arbitrarily dictate investment returns”, and it took a further two years until the Atlas development was finally given the green light in June 2024.
Mr Dutton has vowed to release details of the modelling for his gas plan, conducted by Frontier Economics.
But on Friday, the Coalition promised a 15 per cent reduction for industrial users, only half the headline number originally pledged by Mr Dutton (implying a 29 per cent fall).
Mrs Rinehart’s Hancock Energy has invested more than $2bn in the Australian gas industry since 2022, most of it through the Senex joint venture with Korea’s POSCO.
Hancock Energy chief executive Stuart Johnston said he did not expect the reservation policy to impact Senex.
“Given that most of our existing Eastern States gas production through our investment in Senex has been sold under long term contracts we do not believe we would be affected by the Coalition policy, at least currently,” he said.
“Like others in the industry, we are keen to see the details of the policy to understand how it will encourage continued investment.
“Hancock believes that an abundant supply of gas is vital for reliable electricity, including for homes, hospitals, security, airports, businesses and more across Australia, and welcomes measures to streamline government approvals and provide policy certainty, to ensure Australia as a country is not overlooked for the necessary investment.”
Critics of the policy have warned it could worsen gas shortages on the east coast.
Mr Dutton attended Mrs Rinehart’s 70th birthday party in February last year and Hancock’s national mining day events, and has said he considers her “a dear friend, a great Australian and Australia’s most successful businesswoman”.
