Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

From 1 July this year, once these regulations are in place, the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia will have the power to notify when a shortfall year should be considered to be called. Over a number of months, the minister for resources must take advice from the Australian Energy Market Operator and the ACCC and consult with the industry and other stakeholders to determine whether that shortfall should in fact be declared and to what extent it should be. If it is the case that a shortfall is declared, a licensing regime will be put in place for a full calendar year to align with the shipping profiles of the LNG industry. They can be reset on an annual basis or when any licence conditions are breached.

We are making sure this is a temporary measure. This is not something we see as a long-term solution to the issue. It is something we can significantly take action on now to relieve the pressure, but the regulation is due to sunset after five years and there will be a review after two years to provide certainty to the industry that we are focused on making sure we have long-term solutions to our gas supply problems.