Bill Shorten fuels ALP battle on energy

Bill Shorten has sided with senior Labor MPs declaring gas and lower energy prices as crucial in protecting Australia’s manufacturing sector and jobs.

Bill Shorten said Australia’s shift to renewable energy would require transitionary baseload ­energy sources, of which gas would play a key role. Picture: Sarah Matray

Anthony Albanese is facing a ­partyroom revolt after Bill Shorten sided with senior Labor MPs Joel Fitzgibbon, Matt Keogh and Kim Carr in declaring gas and lower energy prices as crucial in protecting Australia’s manufacturing sector and jobs.

Mr Shorten — a longtime leadership rival of Mr Albanese who pledged $1.5bn to unlock gas supply and pipelines ahead of last year’s election — said Australia’s shift to renewable energy would require transitionary baseload ­energy sources, of which gas would play a key role.

The former Australian Workers Union boss said the manufacturing sector needed low energy prices to remain competitive.

“I used to look after workers in manufacturing,” Mr Shorten told the ABC.

“You can’t have a manufacturing sector from Quenos in Botany and Altona through to foundries, through to the four smelters in aluminium, the steel industry, unless we have low-price energy.

“I think gas does tick some of those boxes.”

With hydrogen and battery storage years away from delivering effective baseload power for high energy users, divisions have erupted inside Labor over whether to support taxpayers’ underwriting gas ­infrastructure.

Mr Fitzgibbon —who faced a backlash from left-faction ­colleagues including Mr Albanese after speaking against the Labor Environment Action Network — last week offered the Morrison government bipartisan support for taxpayer-backed gas projects.

The opposition resources and agriculture spokesman said the federal government was “well placed to underwrite long-term gas transport agreements” to ­encourage private investment in gas pipelines.

Appearing on a Guardian Australia podcast, Mr Albanese slapped down Mr Fitzgibbon over his comments and declared he spoke “for the Labor Party and the Labor Party’s position is we examine things based upon the detail”.

The Opposition Leader also talked down the importance of gas, citing renewables with storage and green hydrogen as leading energy sources by 2040.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will release its six-month gas report on Monday showing prices falling since February and limited initial impacts from COVID-19 on east coast gas production and consumption.

The ACCC report warned that beyond 2021, the gas supply outlook would tighten as COVID-19 cast a shadow over longer-term forecasts and put significant pressure on manufacturing and heavy industry operators.

The consumer watchdog said larger commercial and industrial companies were “sceptical” that softer gas contract prices would continue, given the “tight demand-supply balance and what they see as a limited ­degree of competition among suppliers”.

“They also continue to be frustrated by the fact that domestic prices have not followed LNG netback prices down, what they see as onerous non-price terms and conditions, including high take or pay obligations, and a more general imbalance in bargaining power when negotiating with producers and retailers,” the ACCC said.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor is finalising the government’s technology roadmap before the October budget.

He is considering gas reform recommendations made by Andrew Liveris, a special adviser to the COVID-19 Commission and former chair of the Dow Chemical Company.

New splits in Labor have also emerged over the Queensland government’s delays in approving an expansion of the New Acland coal mine.

Resources Minister Keith Pitt on Sunday slammed LEAN after the ALP’s internal environment lobby called on Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to not approve the expansion of the New Acland coal mine “at this time”.

LEAN’s New Acland position statement was sent to members despite urging from Mr Fitzgibbon, and Queensland Labor MPs Shayne Neumann and Anthony Chisholm, to back the mine approval.