Gas commitment shows Crisafulli puts fossil fuel profits above Queenslanders’ energy costs and climate

The Queensland Conservation Council has slammed the Crisafulli Government's investment in new gas and the attempt to smoke screen this with an investment in existing wind infrastructure.

Electricity market data released today shows that the Crisafulli Government is at odds with economics and the energy industry by continuing to invest in new gas and this is putting Queensland's environment, climate and energy bills at risk.

Queensland Conservation Council Energy Strategist Clare Silcock says

This is an incredibly cynical move from the Crisafulli Government.

We welcome the investment of CleanCo in the Kennedy Energy Park. However, this is an existing, small scale wind farm which is not going to meet our energy demands into the future.

It’s clear from the timing of the announcements that it’s nothing but a smoke screen for the Government’s ideological investment in expensive, polluting gas. There is no credible path to net zero that includes new gas projects.

The Australian Energy Market Operator today released figures showing that renewable energy met more than half of our electricity needs in the last quarter, with coal and gas production pushed to the lowest levels in more than twenty years. The trend is clear that we don’t need more gas, we need to rein the gas companies in to stop them exporting our gas instead of supplying Queensland families and businesses.

The Federal Government’s gas review process has shown that Santos has been the main culprit in driving Australian gas prices through the roof. Santos have been unable to fulfil their export contracts because they over-estimated supply from their gas fields and so they’ve been buying gas from other suppliers on the domestic market to ship overseas. It’s laughable that the Crisafulli Government is rewarding them with new exploration licences so that Santos can continue to profit at Queensland’s expense.

These gas exploration licences in the Cooper and Eromanga Basins are in the precious Lake Eyre Basin which Traditional Owners, landholders and communities have fought for years to protect from gas extraction. We have deep concerns about the exploration for gas extraction into these fragile ancient landscapes.

The Crisafulli Government’s energy policy is clearly driven by an ideology to support coal and gas which will hurt Queensland communities and drive up power bills. We need to see well planned new renewable energy backed by storage to keep Queensland’s electricity affordable and reliable into the future.

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