Make Peter Dutton Energy Minister for a day

It’s time for blunt truths on how a means for slashing gas and power prices in NSW and Victoria is being wilfully ignored.

Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton speaks during House of Representatives Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra, Wednesday, October 25, 2017. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

There is a simple way to put eastern Australia on the track to much lower gas and power prices: appoint Peter Dutton as energy minister for a day.

Australians, and particularly Victorians, are not being told the truth of how vast reserves of low cost gas are being concealed by Victorian politicians and thus forcing up the prices of both gas and power in NSW and Victoria.

We need a Peter Dutton to break the silence code just as he did with the African gang concealment.

For years politicians and police told Victorians that there was no such thing as gangs of Africans and that people were not at all afraid of Melbourne’s gang violence.

From NSW, Peter Dutton on radio brutally explained the real situation in clear language so that everyone could understand. Suddenly, Victorian government politicians and police officers admitted the obvious that there were African gangs. They didn’t always agree with Dutton’s solution but the force with which he delivered the message changed the whole debate for the good and people, including the African community, are now openly talking about solutions to gang violence not whether or not there are gangs.

The gas concealment is remarkably similar to the gang concealment.

The Victorian government’s “there are no gangs” style gas message comes via a $42 million committee that was set up partly to report on whether there was onshore conventional gas in Victoria. A report has come out saying what most knew — that it is highly unlikely that there are big reserves of conventional gas on shore.

What it does not say is that there are vast reserves of low-cost onshore gas that do not have the “conventional” brand.

Both Victorian political parties, the Commonwealth government and at least one member of the committee know that it is highly likely that Victoria has immense gas deep in the ground under its lignite coal fields where fracking is not only NOT required but in fact can’t be used because the gas is too deep. The fields are close to the Exxon Longford Bass Strait distribution plant near Sale.

All the indications are that these gas reserves are about equal to the discoveries in Bass Strait. The gas comes to the surface dissolved in water. The drilling tests that have been done so far confirm that the water is of agricultural quality and requires no treatment to be used on the land.

Exxon was preparing to undertake a $200m full pre-development project but the Victorian government, led first by the previous Coalition Napthine administration, blocked them fearing farmers would mix this up with fracking.

But then the ban was embraced by Premier Daniel Andrews and backed by Opposition Leader Matthew Guy as gas prices spiralled upwards as Bass Strait ran down. Incredibly, this amazing resource and its potential to slash gas and power prices has been blocked by legislation.

I asked a Victorian government spokesman why the $42m committee didn’t look at this vast gas resource as part of its brief. The spokesman said that this “lignite gas” is a form of coal seam gas, which is banned under Victorian legislation due to the risk it poses to groundwater and groundwater users, so was outside of the scope of the report.

I accept that the committee was effectively prevented from examining the resource and so does not take the blame.

But what anyone from kindergarten up would have known is that if you are going to spend tens of millions of dollars, start by looking at where you know you have gas and determine whether the water produced in its production is harmful or useful for agriculture.

That gas would transform the Victorian and New South Wales gas production and make them not dependent on events in Queensland. The outlook for the Latrobe Valley in Victoria would be transformed. If the initial test results are wrong and the water is dangerous to the soil, then we can debate the issue but don’t conceal the existence of the gas.

In theory, the Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy should lead the charge but his hands are stained because the previous administration made early mistakes. Guy didn’t understand that this gas did not require fracking until myself and others pointed out just how stupid the current legislation is that stops this gas being tested. Guy now backs the gas development, subject to water testing, but he prefers other issues such as law and order.

Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg is frustrated that this vast gas resource is banned from testing and development. He urges development but he is too much a gentleman to “do a Dutton,” perhaps not wanting to upset his colleague Matthew Guy.

What is needed is someone who will tell the truth in blunt powerful words about how NSW and Victorians are being ripped off by Daniel Andrews. The only Australian with the track record of doing that is Peter Dutton. Forget whether he has a conservative or a liberal or some other label, Dutton knows how to tell the community the truth in terms that everybody understands. He makes it very difficult for those peddling the lies that there are no gangs and no gas. What would be really good for the nation is if Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy admitted he made a mistake. We all make them but now he has learned the truth. But I don’t think he will do that until someone like Peter Dutton spells it out.

Footnote: While there is a clear element of tongue in check in nominating Peter Dutton as energy minister for a day there is also a vital message. Surely the least Daniel Andrews can do is to spend some of the $42m checking that the earlier water production that came with the gas was of agricultural grade. Frustrated Exxon, which was prevented spending $200m, has purchased a new gas field in Bass Strait.

For those wanting background on the vast Victorian gas fields the Australian web site has the following commentaries:

An easy fix for our east coast gas mess (February 7, 2017)

Time to get tough on gas crisis (September 26, 2017)

Victoria’s amazing, unused gas reserve (September 29, 2017)