We pay too much—way too much—for our own gas here in Australia. The government has failed to appropriately regulate private contracts, which has in part led to a domestic supply problem. We also don't get our fair share from our gas that's sold overseas. The government has failed to appropriately tax our finite natural resources, and it continues to fail to do that at a time when our nominal national debt is the highest it has ever been. The Domestic Gas Reservation Bill 2026 tries to do something about that—about the first problem, that is. But it does not seek to address the second.

I went to the election in 2025 calling for a national gas reservation scheme, and it's hardly a radical idea. It was then supported by the then opposition leader. It is the most basic thing that a gas-rich country can do—make sure that its own people get first dibs on its own resources. Western Australia has done it for 20 years. The east coast never did the same, and now we are literally paying the price. When the Gladstone export terminals opened a decade ago, east coast gas suddenly became tied to higher international prices. Domestic prices roughly trebled. So I support this bill because it tries to do something about that. It's a step forward for every household and business that has asked me how we, as one of the world's biggest gas exporters, ended up here, in Australia, with our own gas affordability problem.

But it's obvious that this bill doesn't solve all our problems. More than half of the gas we export attracts no royalties, and over five years Japan has raised more by taxing the gas it imports from us than we raised from the PRRT. Japan gets more tax from our gas than we do. Now, a well-functioning market does not look like this. This is a rort. But this bill does nothing about that.

Let me pause to put this bill into the context of the Australian energy economy one-quarter of the way through the 21st century. Despite the ups and downs of the climate wars, commitments to climate change have seen a reduction in the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, principally through changes to land based systems but also through switching out fossil fuel powered electricity with renewables like solar and hydro. Just under half of Australia's electricity market is now powered by renewables. So Australia is well on the way to its 82 per cent of renewables set for 2030. I don't think we're going to get there in time; we may fall short. But the benefits of energy security and sovereignty and to the cost of living mean that we will stay the course.

Now, the Australian economy is also definitely going to need fossil gas for some users into the future. It provides firming as we roll out renewables, although this will become increasingly more expensive as batteries provide more storage into the electricity market and do that much more cost effectively over the coming months and years. Fossil gas also has high-value uses in certain industries—as a feedstock for plastics and polymers, for example, and to transport chemicals in, say, medical applications. That's why it's so important that we address the regulation of gas, domestic and export, fossil and renewable, taking a concerted, long-term strategic view about its use. And it's why any discussion of the gas reservation scheme should have a wide range of industry stakeholders in the room—not just those fossil gas companies with existing contracts but also stakeholders from a broader range of sectors, current and future. It's also why any discussion of a gas reservation scheme should include financiers, providers of debt equity and insurance, who can and do take a global view of international energy markets and economies. And it's why any discussion of a gas reservation scheme should start with a discussion of the absence of a gas export tax.

Australians across the political spectrum are crying out for us to get our fair share of natural resources to pay for all of the public and social services that we deeply value and desperately, badly need. The government is ignoring these calls, and I believe that is a grave mistake. I urge it to change its position.

If we have to take this bill on its own merits, on its own terms, does it achieve what it sets out to do, which is to ensure Australians can get access to their own gas reserves at affordable prices? Now, on this front, it does make some steps forward, but it's far from perfect. From 1 January 2028, anyone exporting LNG is going to need a licence. In return, licence holders must supply the domestic market with gas equal to up to 20 per cent of what they export, and the Australian Energy Regulator will enforce this domestic supply obligation backed by civil penalties. Rather than a grid flat rate mandate for every exporter, the regulator can calibrate and lower each domestic supply obligation percentage to maintain an aggregate domestic supply target of 110 per cent of the forecast demand.

The bill also contains a deemed supply provision. Some things count towards an exporter's domestic supply obligation without being a direct gas sale, including supply of renewable gas or helping customers cut their gas use—for example through electrification. This last part is a great provision. We've got to take a step back here and remember that, while many households and industries currently use gas, we don't want or can't afford that to be the case for decades to come. The more that we can electrify these houses and businesses, the better for the hip pocket, the better for our climate and the more resilient and internationally competitive our economy becomes.

Let's go to where the bill falls short. First, nothing in this bill guarantees that we're going to see lower gas prices here. The government argues that, by ensuring a modest oversupply of gas, prices are going to go down. That may be the case. But it refuses to say by how much, to set a specific target against which we can measure progress or release modelling underpinning the government's assertions or decisions. Second, the ministerial discretions are too wide. The default reservation is 20 per cent of exports. The minister can lower that figure, granting adjustments for existing export contracts, stretching obligations over long periods at lower percentages and exempting some export facilities altogether. To be clear: again, I'm a pragmatist not a perfectionist, and I believe that some flexibility may indeed be necessary.

These are big changes to the existing market. The minister may need to grant an exemption, for example, if some exporters are actually already reserving gas under the WA reservation scheme. But these ministerial powers need to be carefully calibrated to ensure that we're not creating loopholes that exporters will exploit and therefore rip off the Australian taxpayer. Specifically, the government should ensure that the reservation can't be gamed with dodgy gas deals with third parties or promises of investment in speculative and expensive new gas basins. All that would do would be to reserve high cost gas for Australians and make it harder to address the climate crisis. That's why I'm moving an amendment to this bill.

The bill already recognises that cutting demand for gas through electrification can count towards an exporter's domestic obligation. That is good. My amendment makes those options a 'must do' rather than an afterthought. Before the minister can reduce, defer or exempt any supply obligation, they must first satisfy that a demand reduction through electrification or renewable gas has been genuinely pursued, because the real long-term answer to high gas prices is to use less gas. The cheapest gas, in fact, is the gas that you never have to buy.

Every home that switches to a heat pump and an induction cooktop—yes, there are fantastic induction woks available—and every factory that electrifies its process heat can plan its energy costs years ahead. Electrification lowers bills, lowers emissions and lowers our exposure to markets that we do not control. We need to electrify the economy at pace. The technology is here. What we've been missing is the investment and the political will.

I support this bill, and I want to thank the minister's office for engaging with my office on this critical initiative. I need to urge the government to adopt my amendment and others from the crossbench. I also urge the government also to legislate a gas export tax as soon as practically possible.