Australian industry reliant on gas for ‘foreseeable future’, resources minister tells press club

The resources minister, Madeleine King, says Australian industry will be reliant on gas for the “foreseeable future”, and that the national gas reservation scheme will push down power prices.

But the Western Australian MP did not put a price tag on the cost of gas under the proposal– as the former opposition leader, Peter Dutton, once did – nor predict when households and businesses would start to see that financial relief.

The national gas reservation scheme will force gas companies to set aside 20% of exports for domestic use, and is expected to come into effect from January 2028.

It will give the Australian Energy Regulator the power to force companies to meet a target of 110% of projected demand each year. It will also limit ministerial discretion and replace the Turnbull-era domestic gas security mechanism.

In an address to the National Press Club on Wednesday, King said keeping gas affordable for households and businesses was a critical part of the scheme’s primary focus.

“We expect the oversupply part of the reservation to put that modest oversupply into the system, which will push down those prices,” she said.

“So we do expect to see that downward pressure on prices. It’s a very important aspect of the whole scheme.”

The minister said gas was central to heating homes, keeping manufacturing industries running, processing critical minerals and rare earths domestically and supporting the rollout of renewables.

King said gas would continue to play an important role well into the future without a viable replacement.

“The truth is, it’s hard to establish a date because we don’t yet have the replacement for some of the industries that will that need it,” she said.

“Right now, there is no replacement for gas. I am totally supportive of any kind of research or development that finds a replacement, whether it’s just in lower emissions or alternative. But right now, and for the foreseeable future, that does not exist.”