Rex Patrick (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If Russia invades the Ukraine there will be huge consequences for Australia. The EU depends on Russia for about a third of its gas supplies and will need alternative sources if there's a major conflict. Global gas prices will surge. Australia's big gas exporters and the government have rushed to offer additional LNG gas to the EU should Russia reduce or shut down the gas it supplies, but where will that leave our gas market?

The government's domestic gas policy is a total failure. It's an absurdity that Australia, a huge exporter of gas, is now building import terminals. We export our cheap gas to the Asian market and we leave the expensive gas here for our manufacturers. In the best of times the gas cartel makes sure our manufacturers are at a disadvantage. We have to take action on this, and back in 2019 I talked to the government about the need to have a reservation policy, which the government announced but has not implemented. It's a breach of an undertaking given to me in writing by the government in June 2019. Two and a half years later, that's another betrayal by this government, which is always putting big business ahead of manufacturers and Australian consumers.

We're now vulnerable to any disruption in the global market. If there's war in the Ukraine, Australian consumers, manufacturers and households will take another hit from a spike in gas prices, while the big exporters will be laughing all the way to the bank on our gas. That's apparently the government's perception of national security. What a joke!