The statements, made by the former Woodside executive at the Australian Domestic Gas Outlook Conference in Sydney today, are in direct opposition to NSW Labor Leader Luke Foley’s anti-coal seam gas and -fracking policy proposals being made in the lead-up to the NSW election on Saturday.
Mr Gray said that state and federal governments have a very good understanding of impacts of fracking, and argued that the process has and will continue to be managed effectively with robust regulation. He supported his position by citing several recent inquiries that have been made into coal seam gas and fracking, including the NSW Chief Scientist Mary O’Kane’s report which supported development of the coal seam gas industry.
On the calls made by some unions, communities and state governments for the implementation of domestic gas reservation policies, Mr Gray was emphatic that reservations discourage investment in production and exploration, ultimately reducing the availability of gas supply for domestic or international use and thus increasing domestic gas prices.
Mr Gray cited the example of his home state of Western Australia, where the state’s gas prices are higher than any other Australian state because of the state’s 15 per cent domestic gas reservation. Mr Gray went on to call for the removal of the market policy.
Mr Gray argued that coal seam gas production was an immense opportunity for Australia, particularly rural Australia, and called for continued robust and efficient government regulation, better community engagement and better gas transmission to help address concerns over the industry, and to address rising eastern Australian gas prices.