The government waved a magic wand and turned the Gas industry into a stone

By Jo Nova

 Surprise: Government fixes price, and gas supply gets paralyzed

Photo KWON JUNHONow that the Australian government has played the Command Economy Joker Card, the gas industry has accidentally frozen.  The old rules that set prices competitively have been set on fire, and the new rules are written in government jello. No one wants to set up new long term contracts when the government could change their mind any day, and the industry may either miss out on huge profits a year from now, or be in breach of “goodwill” and “reasonable price” provisions that are the legal equivalent of Ebola.

For some reason ordering people to have goodwill “or else”, just means everyone hires more lawyers,  no one knows what they can “reasonably” charge, investors run for the hills, and production shrinks. It’s almost as if the free market turned into a Soviet economy…  if the government decides the price, it’s almost like the government owns the industry, yeah?

h/t to Eric Worrall, via RicDre

Australian energy users call gas industry ‘a bunch of bullies’ amid claims of supply shortages

Peter Hannam, The Guardian

Samantha McCulloch, the chief executive of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (Appea), said…. “The lack of clarity on how the price cap order is to be applied alongside the threat of permanent gas price regulation has virtually paralysed the market.

Companies could face a $50m penalty for breaching rules that are still being defined, she said…

So no one wants new customers now.

Retailers blame price cap for fears over gas supply

Rachel Baxendale, The Australian

Multiple energy retailers across the eastern seaboard have stopped taking new gas customers and others are ramping up their prices as they struggle to secure ongoing supply from producers following the Albanese government’s imposition of a wholesale price cap.

And energy retailers can’t get gas:

Australia’s second-largest energy retailer, AGL, has been unable to secure contract supply of gas for 2023, prompting it to cease taking new commercial and industrial customers…

Every energy retailer The Australian contacted said they had been unable to secure gas from producers under the $12/GJ price cap.

“No counterparty is currently willing to sell at the proposed $12 rate, and we’re not even sure how it’ll work in practice when the reforms come into place, since there’s very little that seems to be actual concrete around it right now,” Mr Yemm said.

Strangely price caps do not drill holes and find more gas:

“The superficial appeal of capping prices is quickly eroded as investment wanes and production falls, leading to sustained higher prices over the longer term and inevitable supply constraints,” Mr Heffernan said. “If the desire is to increase supply, especially during periods of high need, and reduce prices, then price caps do the opposite.”

“If suppliers don’t know what (the reasonable pricing) provision is, it would be difficult to write a multi-year contract,” Ms Reeve said.

“If they assume a future higher price, they may get caught out if that price is later determined to be ‘unreasonable’. If they assume $12/GJ continues, they may miss out on profits.

Worse-case bills have already started

The most competitive household gas prices on the east coast are ­already as high as Jim Chalmers’ worst-case scenario, as retailers hike prices by a further 20 per cent from next month.

The Australian’s analysis of current market offers from Origin, AGL and EnergyAustralia shows prices have increased by 30 per cent in Queensland, 22 per cent in NSW, and 19 per cent averaged out across those states, Victoria and SA over the past year

 Commenter Bruce at The Australian

It is not just gas supply into the market that is being limited and no new contracts for small users it is also for large market users and Electricity contracts for large market customers coming out of contract
no offers from any Retailers are on the table certainly not for new clients that Electricity Retailers would normally be offering very sharp prices for to increase their market share
I see it happening each day as I work in this industry as a broker
The gas and electricity industries are being destroyed by this price cap nonsense
Gas  Photo Kwon Junho
9.6 out of 10 based on 91 ratings

139 comments to The government waved a magic wand and turned the Gas industry into a stone

  • #
    David Maddison

    I have a friend (in Vicdanistan) who received notification that his gas bill will go up by 25%.

    290

    • #
      PsDazza68

      In Vicdanistan, my gas supply rates are increasing 47% for the first 100MJ/day and 53% for every MJ after that. My calcs show I will be paying about $540 more for 2023 if I use the same as 2022.

      170

      • #
        Ronin

        It seems obvious they don’t want you using it, which is the whole aim, it appears.

        230

      • #
        John Connor II

        My calcs show I will be paying about $540 more for 2023

        MORE? That’s about my total annual power bill!
        You need an emergency election to remove the rot, or move!

        30

        • #
          David Maddison

          Dan will be with us for at least another 8 to 12 years according to former Liberal premier Dennis Napthine, and in my opinion may even declare himself Premier for Life, as is typical of all psychopathic dictators.

          70

    • #
      Geoff+Croker

      My 2023 bill is rising by 58% on the gas side, 0.8% on the connection fee. It rose 20% last year.

      Most of my gas is used for heating. My bill is lower when compared to AGL or Origin.

      If I owned a business that used lots of energy I would shut it.

      30

  • #
    David Maddison

    The gas crisis is made even worse by Australian and State Government bans on oil and gas exploration in certain areas of substantial extent, plus fracking in Vicdanistan and elsewhere.

    Bizarrely, and possibly uniquely in the world, fracking is actually banned in the Vicdanistan Constitution.

    550

    • #
      Petros

      Wasn’t that the only thing Scummo did with his extra-ordinary ministerial powers? To not renew a lease on an area of oil and gas exploration in NSW?

      241

  • #
    James Murphy

    Like the USA, there is industry worry that new resource development projects won’t be permitted, or will be killed after considerable investment. Why would anyone invest in such an environment? That then leads to less money being available for exploration… then there’s personnel. It’s already very hard to get graduates to work in the oil industry, but if they think there’s no future in it, why bother starting?
    It won’t happen overnight but it will kill the industry.

    610

    • #
      Ted1.

      Killing the industry is Greens policy.

      350

      • #
        b.nice

        Killing ALL industry , is Greens policy.

        And Labor is run by the unions… surly they can’t go along with the Green anti-human, negative progress agenda.

        380

        • #
          wal1957

          surely they can’t go along with the Green anti-human, negative progress agenda.

          You forgot the sarc tag.

          90

        • #
          Hivemind

          Anything to keep themselves in power. It’s the only thing they really believe in.

          60

        • #

          Sorry but I believe too many politicians actually believe that somehow life will go on pretty much the same when gas and power bills skyrocket, businesses collapse everywhere and there are sudden and widespread restrictions on movement of people.

          Very few of our politicians actually do any proper thinking. And the bureaucracy that advises them is utterly incompetent as we have seen from covid, where ridiculous and dangerous policies were adopted which caused havoc everywhere.

          80

          • #

            I have been caravaning from Taree to Longreach and return. Without heavy transport, 100 tonne road trains, outback Australia ceases to exist. Near Miles is a very large windfarm none of which was working today with complete calm. Not one but two new transmission lines have been connected. Bowen does not count transmission as a cost of the cheapest energy. The bloke is an idiot. The fools have no concept of how much of Australia works.

            50

  • #
    David Maddison

    Apart from the present mismanagement and anti-energy policies, the foundation of a lot of Australia’s gas crisis lies with pretend conservative John Howard. In 2002 he enabled the giving away of much of Australia’s gas supplies to the Chicomms on a bizarre 30 year contract with no provision for inflation or market price adjustments.

    Even the Chicomm-oriented Sydney Morning Herald acknowledge it was a bad thing.

    https://amp.smh.com.au/opinion/how-australia-blew-its-future-gas-supplies-20170928-gyqg0f.html

    How Australia blew its future gas supplies

    By Tony Wright
    September 29, 2017

    [..]

    It doesn’t bear contemplating, now they’re gone, what they might have thought about a country that allowed its entire store of gas to be flogged off without first setting aside enough of the stuff to ensure the nation’s power grid continued humming and that consumers could afford to turn on a light switch.

    [..]

    It’s been a scandal for too many years, and no recent government can escape blame.

    I was in the Canberra press gallery in 2002 when prime minister John Howard called a press conference to announce, with the widest grin he could manage, that after years of negotiation, Australia’s mining interests had pulled off a $25 billion deal to supply China with liquefied natural gas.

    [..]

    It was, crowed Howard, Australia’s biggest single export deal. Ever.

    “Needless to say, I am absolutely delighted. It is so good for Australia,” he said. “This is the kind of outcome that will underpin the economic strength of this country.”

    [..]

    It wasn’t, though.

    By 2015, it was being called the worst deal ever done. The Chinese by then were paying about one-third the price for Australian gas that Australian consumers themselves had to pay … and they were guaranteed to continue doing so.

    [..]

    The Chinese had got the deal of a lifetime because the consortium of Australia’s North West Shelf operators hadn’t thought to insert a clause into the contract that would raise the price of gas from what was, in 2002, a historically low level.

    As world gas prices rose and rose, the price paid by China for what Howard had called “a gold medal performance” stayed at rock bottom. Australia’s gas exports of 3 million tonnes a year from that single agreement were contracted to stay at basement prices until 2031.

    [..]

    A few months later, in the dying days of his government, Howard was back in China to witness the signing of a new, $35 billion liquid natural gas deal. The Chinese were so thrilled they made a gift of two giant pandas to Adelaide’s zoo.

    [..]

    Yet things remain so dire that there is talk of importing gas, either the Australian stuff on sale so cheaply overseas, or supplies from one of our competitors, Qatar.

    [..]

    SEE LINK FOR REST

    410

  • #
    David Maddison

    So many contradictions….

    – The Australian Government complains about the gas shortage they themselves created.

    – Oil and gas exploration banned in many areas.

    – Fracking banned in various areas.

    – At the same time the use of gas is discouraged. Electric cooking stoves are being promoted over gas stoves. In many areas, gas supplies are not even being piped into new real estate developments or gas stoves are banned.

    – Gas hot water also being discouraged in Vicdanistan, Government grants to convert to electric heat pump units.

    – People are expected to drive electric cars, but these need to be recharged from real power stations running on coal, gas, hydro, or in proper countries, nuclear power stations. But real power stations are being shut down and destroyed.

    – Without gas there will be much more electrical demand for hot water and heating and cooking. There will be insufficient power without coal, gas or nuclear power stations. Plus, I doubt the poles and wires will be able to handle the increased electrical load to replace gas.

    Obviously, no one in any Australian Government has a clue, neither do their sycophantic and/or rent-seeking advisors.

    750

    • #
      Tel

      Obviously, no one in any Australian Government has a clue, neither do their sycophantic and/or rent-seeking advisors.

      I’m not saying they are deliberately trying to destroy the joint … but IF it was all random stupidity then at least now and then they would do something good purely by accident.

      Just hypothetically suppose we were somehow being sabotaged … what specific items would look different?

      760

    • #
      OldOzzie

      David,

      Intersting re – Gas hot water also being discouraged in Vicdanistan, Government grants to convert to electric heat pump units.

      Discussion at Geriatric’s Tuesday Lunch yesterday, besides me whinging how useless Rheem Australia are, other whinge was just received NSW 2023 Land Tax assement, which had gone from $15,000 to $20,000, which I was going to object but being NSW Govt, you have to pay whilst your objection is heard, but given all recent interactions with Federal and State Govts have been finally answered by a Caller working from home (judged by the noises in the background), I didn’t hold out hope that the objection would be looked at for 12 months.

      I then mentioned I had been bombarded with emails re NSW Govt offer to change your Electric/Gas Hot Water Systems to Electric Heat Pump – $33 installed for nearly $4,000 Electric Heat Pump for my tenants.

      Enginnering mate said he had been speaking to some Sparky Mates, and that what is happening is the Electric Heat Pumps are breaking down within 2 years amd you have no come back.

      Interesting comment – at own house, have 2 Rheem Gas HWS both going strong, and both Gas & Eectric at other properties – will stick with existing systems.

      150

      • #
        Old Goat

        Ozzie,
        I am expecting something similar in Vicdanistan . The spending is getting utterly out of control . Its what happens when you elect muppets.

        40

    • #

      Germany is making smart meters mandatory

      https://notrickszone.com/2023/01/17/big-brother-keeps-getting-bigger-smart-meters-in-germany-mandatory-beginning-2025/

      The last paragraph neatly encapsulates the way in which big brother is ensnaring us. Quite chilling.

      90

      • #
        David Maddison

        And the thing with smart meters is:

        1) Big Brother can monitor your consumption in real time.

        2) Big Brother can turn off your power remotely as soon as you use you quota of electricity.

        210

      • #
        aspnaz

        I am still waiting to see what system they use to prevent people from bypassing the meter. I assume the meter can only remotely turn off your supply, but with enough people cut off from their supply, there will inevitably be a flood of devices that simply jump the meter whenever it turns off. In South Africa this is an industry in itself, where they tap the overhead and underground cables to steal electricity. Other than the usual threats of huge jail time, do they have any other tools they can use to prevent electricity theft. Would Germans rather let their children and grandma freeze to death than steal electricity?

        50

      • #
        Gerry, England

        In the UK they are able to remotely switch your ‘smart’ meter to pay as you go if you run up any arrears. This neatly means that if you can’t afford to pay then you have ‘self disconnected’ which makes the suppliers look innocent. There is a legal process to be able to make this change – plus with ordinary meters they have can get a right of entry to change it to a pay as you go – but the magistrates courts have turned this into a nice little earner by signing off whole blocks of warrants in a matter of minutes with no consideration of the case in question. At £20 a time they are doing nicely spending a few minutes to sign off 400 warrants. The media – slow on the uptake as ever – have finally noticed something and it has made it to Parliament.

        20

    • #

      David the irony is that instantaneous gas is the most energy efficient hot water producer in existence.It only uses gas when demanded.Evey other system heats water that cools only to be reheated and often never used.The instantaneous sits on the wall waiting for it’s call using zero energy.

      30

  • #
    Memoryvault

    no one in any Australian Government has a clue, neither do their sycophantic and/or rent-seeking advisors.

    On the contrary, David, I think those responsible for these decisions know EXACTLY what they are doing, and all is going according to plan.

    500

    • #
      David Maddison

      Fair enough. Superficially they are clueless, but at the higher echelons, it’s all running to plan.

      And the plan is the destruction of all Enlightenment values and destruction of all the benefits of the Industrial Revolution.

      We are returning to serfdom.

      Interestingly Friedrich Hayek in his book “The Road to Seefdom” (1944) warned as follows. From Wikipedia:

      Hayek “[warns] of the danger of tyranny that inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning.” He further argues that the abandonment of individualism and classical liberalism inevitably leads to a loss of freedom, the creation of an oppressive society, the tyranny of a dictator, and the serfdom of the individual.

      420

  • #
    Simon Thompson M.B. B.S. (Hons)

    It is obvious now that ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT is ALREADY HERE. Our “Politicians” are being manipulated left right and center by those doling out the “Free” money to finance pipe dreams. Notice how “Gas” is now an existential threat to the human race all of a sudden? Why? The power that be have woven a narrative that is pure fantasy on the face of it but is treated as the latest Testament to be swallowed. Time to bug out, dear readers!

    430

    • #
      David Maddison

      Some of the world’s most evil people are discussing our future right now in Davos.

      491

    • #

      Ten years ago the otherwise excellent David mackay head scientist of the UK govt climate change Dept said

      ‘burning gas should be made a thermogenic crime’

      When I told people this a decade ago, they laughed

      140

  • #
    Peter Fitzroy

    Not a problem for Western Australia though, plenty of cheap gas for consumers, nice profits for the gas sector. Internationally you can look at all the gas exporters, where Australia stands out as the only country that allows the gouging of the locals which is seen in the Eastern States. Government intervention works, not your 1830’s style unregulated market.

    226

    • #
      David Maddison

      But don’t you Leftoids think gas is causing a supposed “climate crisis” and needs to be shutdown and kept in the ground?

      Wouldn’t you be pleased that gas is becoming unaffordable for non-Elites?

      241

      • #
        ozfred

        Gas generated electricity creates far fewer “real (non CO2)” pollutants than coal generated power does. Maybe the more pragmatic “Greenies” will admit that after realizing there needs to be a 100% certain backup generation plan.
        OTOH, if you do have solar PV panels (and never did install a solar thermal water heater), converting to a heat pump hot water system and activating it mid day seems like a reasonable long term financial decision. And at least locally the installation costs do not seem quite at the multi thousands levels being forecast.

        01

      • #
        aspnaz

        Exactly. The Green revolution is about reimposing the considerable standard of living difference between the rich and the poor, the sort of difference that existed hundreds of years ago. It is about depriving the poor of all the technological and standard of living breakthroughs that they have created in the past, limiting the use of those breakthroughs to the rich only. It is a project rooted in raw spite.

        00

      • #
        Harves

        Peter sometimes forgets his talking points … yes, it’s confusing for us but imagine being him?🙄

        50

    • #
      Old Cocky

      There are these things called “long term contracts”, and other things called “options”, both of which are intended to protect against price movements.

      21

    • #
      el+gordo

      ‘ … 1830’s style unregulated market.’

      Laissez-faire economics?

      10

  • #
    Pauly

    Socialism is so much fun for socialists! They pretend that the government actually drives the economy, so keep making decisions as if they are in charge. Except, all they prove is how little politicians understand the economy at all. Probably because few, if any, have held down a job in the private sector, let alone run their own business or know anything about wealth creation!

    Their latest venture into imposing carbon emission reductions on the top 200 emitters in Australia will be another policy disaster. “Unintended consequences” is another way of saying they have no idea what happens next!

    500

    • #
      Mike Jonas

      I see things differently. Socialists have one and only one objective: their own power. They don’t give a toss about their country’s economy or people.

      430

    • #
      Broadie

      Socialism is so much fun for socialists!

      Only one problem. These are Fascists manipulating and /or masquerading as social justice and conservation warriors.
      They are destroying with regulation and compliance small business, family farms and the ability to invest your capital in the product and services you provide.

      They then come in and mop up anything useful with their corporate structures at fire sale prices.
      Big business using big government to destroy and then swallow any small, efficient, innovative opponent.

      The sad part is that this will not bring social justice or a good conservation outcome, just the usual dystopian socialist nightmare.

      80

  • #
    David Maddison

    In Third World countries, without access to real energy such as gas or electricity for cooking, women spend much of their time walking many kilometres to find scarce amounts of firewood from denuded forests…

    At the same time, Leftoids claim to believe in female emancipation….

    Just another contradiction of the Left….

    360

  • #
    Robber

    Here is what the Australian Energy Regulator reports as wholesale gas prices.
    Up from $7/GJ in 2020/21 to $15/GJ in 2021/22 to $25 in 2022/23 (only reported up to Sep 1)
    AEMO reports current spot prices in Vic around $12/GJ.

    120

  • #
    David Maddison

    In Once Great Britain they say “heat or eat”.

    It looks like we’ll soon be saying that in Australia.

    Many already are.

    270

  • #
    Neville

    Yet lefty extremists think our problems are just dandy and they couldn’t care less about our future prosperity. Why is that the case and how do we defend ourselves from the dictatorial nut cases within our own OECD countries and the likes of China, Russia and Iran etc?
    We obviously need more affordable gas for our industries and domestic use and we need to end our reliance on TOXIC S & W ASAP.

    130

  • #
    el+gordo

    Its a big mistake to interfere with the free market.

    Gas prices ‘soared after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but retreated late last year as it became clear that less gas would be required in Europe thanks to an unusually warm winter.

    “Softening netback prices would have filtered through to lower domestic prices, if not for the gas price cap policy that has prevented any additional supply and contracting for the time being,” Mr Kavonic told The Australian Financial Review.

    50

  • #
    KP

    “or be in breach of “goodwill” and “reasonable price” provisions that are the legal equivalent of Ebola.”

    If I could, I’d find the cartoon of the three women in a jail cell-

    One asks the latest arrival, “What are you in here for?”

    “The prices were too high in my shop and I was charged with gouging” she replies.

    “Oh, my prices were too low so I was charged with dumping” said the second.

    “Well, my prices were just the average so I was charged with collusion” said the third.

    410

  • #
    yarpos

    “Companies could face a $50m penalty for breaching rules that are still being defined, she said…”

    Vote for “a voice” that is still being defined

    Committment to high levels of wind and solar with no real plan

    I see a trend of compounding wishful thinking.

    330

  • #
    mareeS

    Labor governments seem to have to re-learn this fundamental lesson every generation.

    150

    • #

      Quite true Maree. All socialists believe their version is better than the one that failed last time. Now and then someone with common sense comes along, Joel Fitzgibbon, and he resigns in disgust. L

      80

  • #
    Neville

    I just received an email from my gas supplier and they claim that from FEB ’23 my domestic gas increase will be $48.50 a year.
    Or about $4 extra a month.
    That’s if I use the same as last year.

    60

    • #
      garry b

      Your usage must be very light, as today’s email from Energy Australia says we can expect a $430 increase, to approx $2,100. Are your low prices available in Victoria? Just a normal home-2 occupants.

      20

  • #
    OldOzzie

    Labor Govt in Australia – PM downplays detail concerns about Voice, likening to Sydney Harbour Bridge

    Anthony Albanese refused to outline the finer details of the Voice in a fiery interview with Ben Fordham.

    Vote

    Are you in favour of enshrining a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the Australian Constitution?

    Yes 70 %
    No 17 %
    Unsure 13 %

    1369 votes

    10

    • #
      Neville

      Old Ozzie I don’t think those numbers are right. Here’s the latest count.

      Are you in favour of enshrining a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the Australian Constitution?
      Yes
      58 %
      No
      30 %
      Unsure
      12 %
      1739 votes

      40

    • #
      KP

      ..and I used to think the jokes about Aussies being dumb were just jokes…

      70% of people will happily screw the future lifestyle of their kids in ways that have been illustrated clearly overseas. Yet any baseless propaganda from Govt sources always comes up with “..think of the children”. Obviously these people don’t!

      I suppose if the anglo-saxon race is willing to do this on a world-wide basis, they deserve all they get. Maybe handing a perfectly good, running civilisation over to people who never built it or know how to run it is no different to putting politicians in charge anyway!

      120

      • #
        Gerry

        It’s about being nice ….. we should be nice to everyone ….being nice means letting them have what they want ….if we don’t they will get angry and that won’t be nice …..

        10

    • #
      Neville

      A further update on Albo’s so called referendum vote. BTW I still think the latest Yes vote is too high.

      Are you in favour of enshrining a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the Australian Constitution?
      Yes
      36 %
      No
      54 %
      Unsure
      10 %
      3253 votes

      50

      • #
        Ronin

        I think what is going on there with that vote is it is either being taken at Sydney Uni, or the numnuts are confusing it with that TV show, ‘The Voice’.

        50

      • #

        Daily Tele poll:

        Are you in favour of enshrining a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the Australian Constitution?
        Yes 33 %
        No 57 %
        Unsure 10 %
        3707 votes

        60

      • #
        Gob

        now it’s 20, 71, 9 with 7712 votes.

        20

        • #
          Chad

          It doesnt really matter what result may come from a referendum vote on the Voice..
          Albo can legislate it into existance tomorrow if he wants to, or likewise after a “NO” vote from the referendum !
          Pointless waste of money for a undemocratic body to be set up.

          00

    • #
      Ronin

      ‘Harbour Bridge’ LOL, at least you knew you were getting a bridge and there was a dire need for it, unlike this voice piece of excrement.

      100

    • #
      David Maddison

      The question is deliberately misleading.

      The implication is that “First Nations” don’t already get a vote or a “voice”.

      They can already vote and get a voice in the normal manner, as can everyone.

      If they get a special voice, so then should we here who are concerned with debunking the anthropogenic global warming fraud.

      30

      • #
        Memoryvault

        Absolutely, David. And what about the other minority groups?
        There are far more people of Chinese lineage than Aboriginal, and at least as many Muslims as the “First nations” crowd.

        When do they get their “Voice”? And where does it stop?

        50

        • #
          b.nice

          The Chinese ??

          CCP already have plenty of Australian political votes.. eg the Greens, and most of Labor, and several Libs

          00

  • #
    Neville

    Another wake up call from Paul Homewood about the UK’s latest, clueless EV battery start up disaster.

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/01/17/british-volt-collapses-into-administration/

    “UK battery start-up Britishvolt has collapsed into administration, with the majority of its 300 staff made redundant with immediate effect”.

    “Employees were told the news at an all-staff meeting on Tuesday morning.

    The firm had planned to build a giant factory to make electric car batteries in Northumberland and was part a long-term vision to boost UK manufacturing.

    But its board is believed to have decided on Monday that there were no viable bids to keep the company afloat.

    Industry experts say the UK will need several battery factories to support the future of UK car making as petrol and diesel engines are phased out over the next decade.

    The UK currently only has one Chinese-owned plant next to the Nissan factory in Sunderland, while 35 plants are planned or already under construction in the EU.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64303149

    The root cause of this collapse is that the factory would have run at a loss for several years, until the EV market was mature enough to provide a full order book. Investors simply were not prepared to accept this.

    No doubt high energy costs and competition from China for both batteries and cars were also points of concern.

    Meanwhile our car manufacturers will soon have to start running down their engine plants, as 2030 approaches, with the inevitable job losses.

    This whole saga is a reminder that you don’t create jobs through government diktat. Promises of hundreds of thousands of green jobs are simply a mirage”.

    230

    • #
      OldOzzie

      US State of Wyoming to Ban Electric Vehicles by 2035; Legislation Explained

      The backers of the bill say the goal is to ensure the stability of the oil industry, which forms the industrial backbone of the state. The incoming resolution is titled ‘Phasing Out New Electric Vehicle Sales By 2035.’

      Proud and Valued Industry

      According to the proponents of the bill, oil and gas production has long been one of Wyoming’s ‘proud and valued industries’ and there is a need to preserve this industry. The oil industry has created ‘countless jobs’ and contributed immense revenues to the state.

      The bill also says that the critical minerals used in electric batteries are not easily recyclable or disposable. The legislation was proposed by a group of Republican lawmakers led by state Senator Jim Anderson. “The Legislature would be saying, ‘If you don’t like our petroleum cars, well, we don’t like your electric cars,'” said Anderson, according to Cowboy State Daily.

      However, the bill’s supporters also say that the legislation will largely be symbolic in nature. Even if it’s passed it will not be binding they say.

      “I’m interested in making sure that the solutions that some folks want to the so-called climate crisis are actually practical in real life …I just don’t appreciate when other states try to force technology that isn’t ready,” said GOP co-sponsor Sen. Brian Boner said, according to the daily.

      “One might even say tongue-in-cheek …. But obviously it’s a very serious issue that deserves some public discussion,” he added.

      68,000 Jobs

      According to the Daily Mail, there are about 100 companies that are engaged in the oil and gas sector in the state. These companies operate a combined 30,000 miles of pipelines in Wyoming and give jobs to as many as 68,000 people.

      “The US has consistently invested in the oil and gas industry to sustain gas-powered vehicles and that investment has resulted in the continued employment of thousands of people in the oil and gas industry in Wyoming and throughout the country,” the bill says.

      “On the other hand, the shift to electric vehicles would ‘have deleterious impacts on Wyoming’s communities and will be detrimental to Wyoming’s economy and the ability for the country to efficiently engage in commerce,” it adds.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    I own a rental property and when it was untenanted I worked out that the pilot light on an older non-electronic gas heater was using 50c per day of gas…

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    • #
      Ronin

      That must be an old heater D, there are now auto start burners ignited by either mains power, battery power or the latest has a water flow powered magneto to provide the spark ignition, thus eliminating the gas guzzling pilot flame.

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  • #
    ianl

    This is one op-ed I agree with.

    I’ve been involved nearly 50 years now with the mining industry, especially for energy resource supply. When price fixing is mandated, all the upfront capital risk for exploration, assessment, development, production, marketing – all of this capital risk then bilong some other fella.

    The ongoing energy supply imbroglio has destroyed politician after politician, starting with Brendan Nelson, whom Lord Waffle deliberately white-anted so as to force AGW onto the agenda. Now Elbow and Bowen are standing defiantly on the scaffold.

    Why do these people persist so ? Primarily, vanity. Look at Bowen’s demeanour … he’ll save the world, he will, he will. The only group always left standing is the bureaucracy.

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    Black Ball says:
    January 18, 2023 at 8:40 am

    Terry McCrann weighs in:

    What could possibly have gone wrong?

    A trainee treasurer, an energy minister who thinks it’s a fantastic idea to string a 4000km extension cord to Singapore, and a prime minister who hasn’t a clue about the most basic interest rate in the economy, cook up a scheme to supposedly cap gas prices?

    Oh yes, and advised – for want of a better word – by the same utterly inept Treasury that came up with a flawed and obviously so from the get-go JobKeeper scheme that poured something north of $40bn straight down the toilet?

    And the whole dangerously dodgy ramshackle Heath Robinson structure starts imploding almost immediately.

    Yes, we have successfully capped the price you will pay for gas; pity that you won’t actually be able to get any.

    Who could possibly have guessed?

    See Link for Rest of comment.

    [Edit for length. – LVA]

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  • #
    ando

    Has there been anything that socialists have touched that didnt turn in to a big steaming pile of brown excrement?

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  • #
    robert rosicka

    Law of “intended” consequences at play here , make gas and electricity so expensive that consumption is reduced and voila reduced emmisions so fewer storms , droughts , floods , cyclones and the weather will be more gooder.

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  • #
    Neville

    Even their ABC tells the truth sometimes and these EV fires stories should make everyone start to THINK about purchasing these very TOXIC EVs.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-21/nats-firefighters-struggle-to-douse-felicity-ace-fire/100848822

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    • #
      ozfred

      Enough to have insurance companies void fire insurance if an EV is stored inside a dwelling or attached garage?

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  • #
    another ian

    “The “Energy Trilemma” – a super wicked problem”

    “There’s a whole lot of cold water splashed on the faces of true believers in the energy transition.”

    http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2023/01/17/the-energy-trilemma-a-super-wicked-problem/

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  • #
    another ian

    The idea fits this thread (IMO)

    “Climate Czar John Kerry: ‘We planet saviors had extraterrestrial influence.’ ”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/01/17/climate-czar-john-kerry-we-planet-saviors-had-extraterrestrial-influence/

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    • #
      Neville

      Another Ian, Kerry Albo and Bowen certainly make up a truly loony trio and it should make everyone shudder and cringe that these donkeys now represent the USA and Australia.

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  • #
    el+gordo

    This will raise eyebrows.

    ‘Narrabri gas project hits legal roadblock.

    ‘Energy giant Santos has suffered a serious setback in its plan to develop its $3.5bn Narrabri gas project after traditional owners lodged a last-minute legal appeal over native title consent.’ (Oz)

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    • #
      David Maddison

      Presumably native concerns that were originally over-ridden are now being addressed.

      Nothing that a large enough payment to “traditional owners” won’t fix.

      Otherwise, let’s just continue shutting down the whole country.

      https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/australias-santos-faces-new-delay-narrabri-gas-project-2023-01-17/

      The National Native Title Tribunal in December permitted Santos to go ahead with the project, ruling that the benefits outweighed the Gomeroi traditional owners’ concerns that it would damage their culture, land and waters and contribute to climate change.

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      • #
        el+gordo

        ‘ … and contribute to climate change.’

        That puts me off side straight away.

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      • #
        Old Cocky

        ruling that the benefits outweighed the Gomeroi traditional owners’ concerns

        Does anybody here know where this recent “Gomeroi” variant came from?
        The locals I grew up with were all proudly Kamilaroi.

        I can see how it could morph, similarly to Collarindabri becoming Collerenebri, but local pronunciations would have dropped the ‘a’, making it more like Kamilroi or Gamilroi

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  • #
    Zigmaster

    I find the threat of ACCC to enforce price caps or else definitely an abuse of their power and maybe illegal . Imposing a price cap is in fact price fixing something that the Commission is set up to punish, yet it seems that companies that don’t fix the price will get punished. This will end in tears as unless they try to increase supply there are no natural market forces to keep the prices down

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  • #
    Ross

    So we already have this crazy advertising scenario for electricity. That’s where you see ads declaring the only way to improve your high power bills is to install solar. But, that’s why the power bills are now high due to the adoption of wind and solar for the last 20 years. So , switching to solar will just make the overall situation worse. That’s ok, the ads say, the good ol’ government will pay you an install subsidy, which is essentially a bribe to compound the problem. They’re slicks ads too. Lots of money spent on them to make them look really cool. People still notice ads and maybe less people consume FTA TV and MSM these days, but those ads then pop up on popular websites and newsfeeds. So, what I am seeing here is an artificial attempt to make gas prohibitive and then advise punters to move to electricity via solar/wind/ battery/ unicorn farts.

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  • #

    What idiots, Elbow, Blackout Bowen, the Apprentice Treasurer and the Treasury Dept are. The problem is one of supply. The Gas to be sold at the price cap just just isn’t there.

    The States need to open up the Market so that the Gas/Oil Companies can increase the supply of Gas. The Gas is in the ground but the States are not letting the Gas Companies develop the Gas reserves.

    The ‘Pollies’ do not understand the simple principle of Supply and Demand. Full Stop.

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    • #
      Ronin

      “The ‘Pollies’ do not understand the simple principle of Supply and Demand. Full Stop.”

      No, I disagree, they are just following the dictates of their ‘bosses’

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      • #
        Memoryvault

        they are just following the dictates of their ‘bosses’

        That would be the dictates of Gates, Bezos, Soros and others, as formulated at Davos by the WEF, and as conveyed to our politicians by Ms Inman Grant, our resident Puppet Master.

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        • #
          Ronin

          “That would be the dictates of Gates, Bezos, Soros and others, as formulated at Davos by the WEF, and as conveyed to our politicians by Ms Inman Grant, our resident Puppet Master.”

          Got it in one. !

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  • #
    STJOHNOFGRAFTON

    What a mess! As usual, the ever burdened energy consumer is caught between the machinations of goofy government control and greedy energy companies.

    21

    • #
      wal1957

      While you are correct to blame the government – why the energy companies?
      No company in their right mind will sell their product at a loss.

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  • #
    Ronin

    John (why the long face) Kerry says ‘ Airconditioners bigger threat than ISIS.

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  • #
    red edwards

    I thank the Deity of current choice, that I live in the US and Texas as well.

    We get to own the minerals under our land. We can make deals with producers of OUR choice, with minimal interference from the government.

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  • #
    Memoryvault

    Once upon a time, a long time ago, the then WA govt entered into partnership with a company to develop the Dongara gas field and build a pipeline for the gas down to Perth. The govt footed part of the cost, accepted part of the risk, and in return got a guaranteed percentage of the output at a fixed price, subject to normal variation clauses, such as inflation etc.

    Around the same time the SA govt entered into similar arrangement to develop the Moomba gas field. Soon after, the QLD and NSW govts bought into the Moomba deal, and VIC eventually followed suit.

    This arrangement worked well for everybody for many years until the state govts realised they could often buy gas at spot prices and so reneged on renewing their contracts with the suppliers.

    Then gas prices started to go up, and it all started to come unstuck. The WA govt saw the writing on the wall, and went back to a negotiated arrangement with the suppliers around the mid 2000’s. The other states did not.

    And that folks is how we ended up where we are now. In short, govt greed.

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    • #
      Ross

      To a certain extent all the problems we are encountering today or in the near future with energy pricing and supply were promulgated years , if not decades ago. Sure, Bowen/ Albanese/ Chalmers are fools but all sides of politics and the public service are to blame. So, what you say is not surprising.

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  • #
    liberator

    I’m also “surprised” that suddenly we’re now finding out how bad gas is for us in our homes. Why has never been raised as an issue after all these years of gas being in our houses, now were suddenly seeing reports about how harmful cooking and heating with gas can be! (Ulterior motive??)

    The state government encourage the use of Nat Gas, so I guess I can now go and sue them for allowing a hazardous fuel to be allowed to be used in my home

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    • #
      Gee Aye

      It has been raised as an issue since the early 1980s.

      09

      • #
        John Connor II

        Correct, but with extraction fans fitted and your gas appliance tuned correctly, realistically there is no problem.

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      • #
        Memoryvault

        It has been raised as an issue since the early 1980s.

        I guess that would explain the massive death toll of people asphyxiated and poisoned while cooking with gas in their homes over the past 40 years.

        If only we had listened to the experts back then.

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    • #
      David Maddison

      The levels of “pollutants” such as CO and NOx, typical combustion products, are extremely minor and would surely be minimised in typical use by a range hood usually used to extract cooking smells and steam?

      And normal advice is, and has always been, to have ventilation for any open flame such as a gas stove, candle or non-flued heater (I think non-flued gas heaters are no longer legal).

      I see promotion of these issues as just more propaganda from the anti-energy lobby.

      In any case, if people have a concern, use electric cooking, eat out or get home delivery by Uber. And don’t use candles.

      Don’t ban things for the thinking community who may wish to use gas cooking and light nice candles.

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      • #
        Ross

        The fact that this suddenly became an “issue” and lit up social media was a huge red flag for me. It resembled the huge pivot to the “ Ukraine” conflict , once the COVID crisis wasn’t solved by vaccines.

        30

  • #
    OldOzzie

    Forget Bugs & Insects – Go Meat

    Agricultural Commodities, Australia
    Latest release

    Statistics on the production of principal agricultural commodities including cereal and broadacre crops, horticulture and livestock
    Reference period
    2021-22 financial year

    Released
    17/01/2023

    Key statistics

    369 million hectares of agricultural land, down 5% from 2020-21
    36 million tonnes of wheat produced, up 14%
    7 million tonnes of canola production, up 43%
    70 million sheep and lambs on farms at 30 June 2022, up 3%
    22 million beef cattle at 30 June 2022, up 1%

    30

  • #
    another ian

    JR

    Doesn’t the problem stem from the demands of politicians?

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  • #
    TdeF

    Yesterday there was news of an objection after the deal was done of a gas scheme which was to supply half of the gas requirements of NSW.

    What is puzzling me is what is motivating all this? It cannot be Climate Change. That does not make sense to anyone.

    But shutting down wood, clearing fire breaks, picking up fallen branches, fracking, coal, natural gas, nuclear, oil, petrol, even gas stoves has to be motivated by someone who is pulling the strings. Is it China?

    Who is generating more CO2 than all other countries combined? And who is not being criticized by Labor, Liberals, Democrats, WEF, UN, EU, Davos or anyone else? John Kerry for example.

    Who invented and shipped the Wuhan Flu worldwide while the first non medical person elected to head the WHO, communist Tedros Adhonom told the world officiall that WHO had concluded the Wuhan Flu was ‘not infectious human to human’. And changed the name. And found no fault in Wuhan.

    Does China own the press? It certainly owns the UN and WHO. And cheers the Davos unelected bankers and businessmen controlling Western democracies.

    There is an explanation. From Gough Whitlam to Bob Hawke to Andrews to Albanese, there is one boss. And it’s not America.

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    • #
      TdeF

      And I see ‘The Voice’ as the first concerted attack on our Federal constitution, intended to disrupt our Christian concept and belief that all men are created equal under God. Now we are told we need to make exceptions, give people special privileges based on race. That is the antithesis of Christianity, the same Christianity which ended world slavery of all peoples, eliminated the caste system both social and racial.

      It is part of a general disruption which starts with Federal government seizing control of all energy and then shutting it down. To save the planet? Of course not.

      No, this is not some conspiracy. There is no other explanation which fits. “Renewables” are vastly more expensive, short term and not a solution to anything. And a government which controls prices by fiat is the first part of a slippery slide into totalitarianism.

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  • #
    Memoryvault

    Who invented and shipped the Wuhan Flu worldwide

    The Wuhan Flu was developed at the Wuhan labs. The Wuhan facility was built by, and is operated by GlaxoSmithKline. Principal shareholder in GlaxoSmithKline is Pfizer. Bill Gates is a major shareholder in both GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer. Pfizer and Bill Gates have both profited enormously from the subsequent scamdemic.

    For reasons that scape me, just who was responsible for its release, and why, is subject to ongoing speculation.

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  • #

    The Gas Industry will just export as much gas as they can at World prices. And why not? And without political interference. Those export dollars keep the gravy train going. Same for Big King Coal. What hypocrites these ‘Pollies’ are……………

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  • #
    Dennis

    Albo wants to know if the gas is aviation fuel and if a cap is the thingy they put on to stop it leaking from the tanks?

    20

  • #
    Robber

    Fortunately gas is still helping to keep the lights in the electricity grids.
    Last night at 7.30pm gas was supplying:
    Qld 1,100 MW @ $130/MWhr
    NSW 450 MW @ $120/MWh
    Vic 740 MW @ $105/MWh
    SA 650 MW @ $111/MWh
    WA 980 MW @$85/MWh

    10

  • #
    Mike Jonas

    The Albanese government should force the states to allow gas exploration and production. Victoria have even put prevention of gas development into their constitution. The $50m fines that companies are being threatened with for withholding supply should be levied on the Victorian state government. I suggest that the Victorian state government should be fined $50m every day that they don’t remove the offending clause from their constitution. How can it be fair or reasonable to fine companies for withholding supply when a state is actively preventing supply.

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    • #
      KP

      First the Aussies better figure out what the States Govt and Federal Govt are responsible for.. In light of the fact you don’t need both levels of Govt at all and we’d be better off without one of them! Toss in district Councils and there are three layers of bludgers above your head telling you what you can and can’t do.

      How about giving it all to the State Govts to control, so Canberra is not allowed to organise trade deals at all with other countries. They can wank around at the UN and DAVOS and worry about our overall defence. Everything else can be handled at State level, including health & education.

      10

      • #
        Dennis

        That’s a very important point to make, notably politicians rely on the average voter not really understanding how the three levels of government operate and the areas of responsibility of each level. For example, Aboriginal Affairs are primarily State government responsibility and on Commonwealth lands Territory governments in most areas.

        Natural disasters are State responsibility, there is no Federal equivalent of, using NSW as the example, State Emergency Services, State Rural Fire Service and Air Wing, etc.

        Electricity supply is primarily State governments responsibility and they were responsible for privatisation and other changes to ownership of power stations and transmission lines, States are responsible for approving development applications for new power stations or so called renewables and AEMO is a cooperative not Federal alone. The Sony Hydro Scheme and Snowy 02 pumped hydro is a Federal project and State shareholdings were purchased by the Morrison Coalition Government. Snowy Hydro Project was a Federal initiative but took ten years to start building awaiting State approvals.

        Recently Prime Minister Albanese took a verbal swipe at the Coalition and claimed that they never built a power station while in government, well no, the Federal Government can only recommend and maybe offer part funding, as the Morrison Coalition Government did for a new coal fired power station they wanted built in North Queensland and offered to underwrite funding for a private sector investor. They also recommended four new gas fired generators, one each for Victoria and Queensland and two in New South Wales.

        Federation of States in 1901 formed the Commonwealth of Australia and the new State Governments established the Federal Government.

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  • #
    John R T

    “Everything else can be handled at State level,…” Amen.
    Even local time.

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    • #
      Dennis

      Or more often the case, mishandle and create United Nations based agendas without asking voters for approval.

      00

  • #
    DennisA

    Peter Hannam is Environment editor for SMH and Economics Editor for The Guardian Australia.
    https://muckrack.com/peter-hannam

    https://www.ecologic.eu/12195
    He went on a study tour to Germany in June 2015, meeting such luminaries as John Schellnhuber, to whom he devoted a puff piece whilst he was there and published before he came home, entitled: “Pope Francis’ climate scientist: the German adviser who primed the pontiff”

    “When Pope Francis seeks advice, one doesn’t hesitate to respond – even if you’re a German professor of theoretical physics who had been baptised as a Protestant and is no longer an active member of the church.

    “The Pope is interfering in the writing of my book,” Hans Joachim Schellnhuber jokingly told visiting Australian journalists on Tuesday, just days before he was to help unveil the pontiff’s controversial encyclical on climate change in Rome.

    Professor Schellnhuber, who founded and heads the renowned Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said he planned to explain the science behind the encyclical at its formal release, along with two leading church officials.”

    20