The global fuel shock is a “massive wake-up call” for Australia to back our rich natural resources to deliver lower-cost, reliable energy supplies for families and businesses, industry leaders say.
They warn declining domestic crude oil production and refinery closures have left the nation exposed by the Middle East conflict, with activism blocking efforts to explore and develop rich oil, gas and coal resources.
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive officer Tania Constable said governments needed to listen to “families and businesses suffering from high energy prices, instead of noisy foreign-funded activists who are sabotaging supply and driving prices up”.
She urged governments to get “the exploration drills running across the nation”, singling out the Great Australian Bight and Queensland’s Taroom Trough – described as a “sea of oil” by Premier David Crisafulli.
Ms Constable said the nation was likely to remain heavily dependent on liquid fuels until cost-effective, reliable electrification became a reality – particularly in job-creating regional industries like mining, long-haul trucking and farming.
“The current situation is a massive wake up call for Australia to get serious about increasing lower-cost, reliable energy supply for mining, other businesses and households,” she said.
“Australia needs patriotic policies to back in its natural wealth, great industries, strong innovative capabilities and our can-do attitude.
“This starts with pragmatic technology-neutral policies so we can use the rich bounty of Australian resources and our industrial ingenuity for national benefit.”
Ms Constable listed measures to make Australia less reliant on foreign oil, including “a technology-neutral approach” to fast-track coal, oil and gas projects in the same way as critical minerals or metals ventures.
She urged “taking the handcuffs off energy exploration and development” by using artificial intelligence to accelerate approval processes, plus accrediting states and territories to issue key decisions.
Billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart said Australia urgently needed “a return to commonsense energy and fuel policy”, saying the nation was “blessed with enormous natural resources” yet had “some of the highest energy prices in the developed world”.
“Increasingly we have become one of the hardest countries to build production, the record of our massive decline from almost entirely fuel sufficient, to needing to import approximately 96 per cent of our requirements, and refineries closed too, speaks for itself,” Mrs Rinehart said.
“Australia is unable to defend itself without a secure fuel and electricity supply, immediately building a large fuel reserve is essential.”
Oil and gas explorer and producer Beach Energy’s chief executive officer, Brett Woods, said the Back Australia campaign came “at a critical time as we navigate global energy supply threats”.
“It is vital that domestic producers, who supply up to three-quarters of the east coast market demand, be supported by a gas policy framework that encourages domestic exploration, development, and production,” he said.
Westpac Institutional Bank chief executive Nell Hutton said small and agricultural businesses with less financial buffers were “already finding things a bit tough” during the oil shock.
“The challenge is how long it will take before supply routes normalise. Even if the Strait of Hormuz were to open fully today, it would take at least a few weeks for those supply lines to normalise,” she said.
The global fuel shock is a “massive wake-up call” for Australia to back our rich natural resources to deliver lower-cost, reliable energy supplies for families and businesses, industry leaders say.
They warn declining domestic crude oil production and refinery closures have left the nation exposed by the Middle East conflict, with activism blocking efforts to explore and develop rich oil, gas and coal resources.
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive officer Tania Constable said governments needed to listen to “families and businesses suffering from high energy prices, instead of noisy foreign-funded activists who are sabotaging supply and driving prices up”.
She urged governments to get “the exploration drills running across the nation”, singling out the Great Australian Bight and Queensland’s Taroom Trough – described as a “sea of oil” by Premier David Crisafulli.
Ms Constable said the nation was likely to remain heavily dependent on liquid fuels until cost-effective, reliable electrification became a reality – particularly in job-creating regional industries like mining, long-haul trucking and farming.
“The current situation is a massive wake up call for Australia to get serious about increasing lower-cost, reliable energy supply for mining, other businesses and households,” she said.
“Australia needs patriotic policies to back in its natural wealth, great industries, strong innovative capabilities and our can-do attitude.
“This starts with pragmatic technology-neutral policies so we can use the rich bounty of Australian resources and our industrial ingenuity for national benefit.”
Ms Constable listed measures to make Australia less reliant on foreign oil, including “a technology-neutral approach” to fast-track coal, oil and gas projects in the same way as critical minerals or metals ventures.
She urged “taking the handcuffs off energy exploration and development” by using artificial intelligence to accelerate approval processes, plus accrediting states and territories to issue key decisions.
Billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart said Australia urgently needed “a return to commonsense energy and fuel policy”, saying the nation was “blessed with enormous natural resources” yet had “some of the highest energy prices in the developed world”.
“Increasingly we have become one of the hardest countries to build production, the record of our massive decline from almost entirely fuel sufficient, to needing to import approximately 96 per cent of our requirements, and refineries closed too, speaks for itself,” Mrs Rinehart said.
“Australia is unable to defend itself without a secure fuel and electricity supply, immediately building a large fuel reserve is essential.”
Oil and gas explorer and producer Beach Energy’s chief executive officer, Brett Woods, said the Back Australia campaign came “at a critical time as we navigate global energy supply threats”.
“It is vital that domestic producers, who supply up to three-quarters of the east coast market demand, be supported by a gas policy framework that encourages domestic exploration, development, and production,” he said.
Westpac Institutional Bank chief executive Nell Hutton said small and agricultural businesses with less financial buffers were “already finding things a bit tough” during the oil shock.
“The challenge is how long it will take before supply routes normalise. Even if the Strait of Hormuz were to open fully today, it would take at least a few weeks for those supply lines to normalise,” she said.
– additional reporting by Zoe Smith