PM owes voters some clarity on North West Shelf project

Nick Cater reminds us of Bob Hawke’s nation-building nous when the prime minister, with Labor’s West Australian premier at the time, provided unqualified support at the inauguration of the North West Shelf project in 1989 (“Come clean now on the North West Shelf, PM”, 12/5).

Fast forward to 2024, when a similar opportunity for solidarity arose for Anthony Albanese and Roger Cook to show their support for Woodside, the NWS operators and our largest gas exporter, at the company’s 70th birthday celebrations and they were conspicuously absent. That Woodside’s application to further develop the Browse Basin within the NWS has been six years in the holdup is a lack of political leadership writ large. As Cater notes, no wonder resource investors are tempted to leave Australia. While Albanese said he would take his lead from Hawke, the reality is that it’s coulda, shoulda, woulda.

Mandy Macmillan, Singleton, NSW

Nick Cater is spot-on when he highlights the danger of Labor’s dithering over the North West Shelf project. For over 30 years it has delivered more than half of Australia’s LNG exports and about 12 per cent of the global trade. It has brought nearly $200bn in investment and helped drive decades of growth. Now the Browse Basin expansion could keep it going for another 50 years. But, instead of backing it, the government seems paralysed by green politics and the bureaucratic process. The West Australian Environmental Protection Authority’s job is to advise on environmental risks, not decide the future of national projects. That responsibility falls to elected leaders, who should weigh economic and social needs too. Anthony Albanese should take a leaf out of Bob Hawke’s book and get behind a project that delivers real long-term benefit to Australians. Knocking back the expansion would be like killing the goose that keeps laying golden eggs.

John Kempler, Rose Bay, NSW

Productivity doldrums

If Rod Sims thinks Labor can seize the day, he will have to come up with better arguments and ideas (“Labor can now seize opportunity to focus on productivity”, 12/5). Jim Chalmers has spent the past three years making sure productivity will remain moribund, dominated by more public servants and NDIS workers. There will be no future made in Australia; a catchy slogan without substance. How can there be with our high energy and labour costs? And he can forget hydrogen. Renewables are too expensive and producing hydrogen too difficult. In the end his solution to all our problems is a carbon tax, sorry “price”. Another tax, another cost to business and on consumers.

Alexander Haege, Tamarama, NSW

Former ACCC boss Rod Sims urges the government to campaign in 2028 on addressing changes to a carbon price and tax reform to boost productivity and to fix a “wayward” electricity system. But what about now? Lack of productivity has been a hot topic, especially with our standard of living declining for the past eight quarters – another failure of the Albanese government overlooked by voters. While it is a truism that standard of living is a positive function of productivity, Labor really has no chance of improving it because of its internal shackles. The CFMEU has a stranglehold on the construction industry and is even preventing the immigration of skilled workers. A bloated public service and government-paid service industry is chewing up valuable funds.

M. Flint, Greenway, ACT

Factions alive and well

Good to see the factional system is alive and well in the ALP, which no doubt will end up in seeing factionalism appointing ministers and not merit. I have no sympathy for Ed Husic or Mark Dreyfus. Husic has been highly critical of the two most important figures in government, Anthony Albanese and Richard Marles, for being dropped from the cabinet and the ministry. What both these men should realise is that it was the factional system that got them into cabinet in the first place. I did not hear any rumblings about the system then. They need to realise when you choose to live by the sword, it inevitably will lead to dying by the sword.

Peter Surkitt, Sandringham, Vic

Putting aside the factional bloodbath in the ALP, there seems little doubt that axing Ed Husic is a major blunder by the party. Husic has proved to be a hardworking MP whose voice needs to be heard. I hold quite the opposite views on the Gaza dilemma and side with Israel in its war against Hamas, although I suspect we would largely agree on the West Bank issue. His active opposition to Israel’s Gaza military intervention seems to have caused problems with the party. However, contrary views are expected in a democracy and need to be aired. Husic has the experience to be a productive minister but he seems to be a voice in the wilderness in his calling for increased productivity.

Mal Price, Sunrise Beach, Qld