- The Crisafulli Government calls on Canberra to defer and redesign its flawed domestic gas reservation scheme to protect investment, jobs and economic growth.
- Queensland industry is bearing the cost of the Federal Government’s reservation policy, so it should be supporting Queensland, not southern States who are bound by ideological decisions to not support their gas industries.
- The proposed scheme would create uncertainty for the industry, risk investment and new supply, hurt regional jobs and increase domestic gas prices over the long term.
- The Crisafulli Government continues to support new gas supply, investment and production while the Federal Government undermines the industry with further intervention.
The Crisafulli Government is backing the gas sector and calling for the Federal Government’s proposed changes to the domestic gas reservation to support long-term investment, protect energy security, and recognise Queensland’s critical role in supplying the east coast gas market.
In a submission to the Federal Government, the Crisafulli Government warned the Commonwealth’s proposed 20 per cent domestic reservation scheme unfairly targeted Queensland and risked undermining the State’s economy and national energy security.
Queensland does the heavy lifting to supply the east coast gas market, enabled by state policy settings that foster investment, development, and delivery.
The Commonwealth’s proposal would see Queensland gas produced for export diverted to domestic users in Victoria and New South Wales to oversupply the market and artificially lower gas prices at the expense of Queensland investment.
The proposed Commonwealth scheme will unfairly impact Queensland because of ideological decisions from New South Wales and Victoria not to develop their own reserves, despite Victoria being the largest gas user in Australia.
Queensland’s gas sector is fundamental to the State’s economy and national energy security, investing up to $4 billion annually, supporting 44,000 jobs and contributing $1.1 billion in royalties in 2025-26 and a forecast $1.9 billion in 2026-27.
The Crisafulli Government’s submission calls for implementation to be deferred and the scheme to be redesigned to avoid destroying investment and new supply, increasing domestic gas prices over the long term and creating industry uncertainty.
Treasurer and Minister for Energy David Janetzki said the Commonwealth’s proposed scheme was a significant intervention into Australia’s gas market that fell disproportionately on Queensland.
“This scheme undermines the foundations of our economy, the prosperity of our regions, national energy security and the trust of our trading partners,” Treasurer Janetzki said.
“The scheme lacks detail and credible evidence, relying on broad Ministerial discretion and annual export approvals, which creates significant regulatory uncertainty for existing contracts, projects with multi-decade investment horizons, and long-term supply agreements.
“Any national scheme must recognise and respect Queensland’s contribution and avoid unfairly penalising the state that is securing energy supply for the rest of the east coast.”
Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing, and Regional and Rural Development Dale Last said Queensland’s gas industry had consistently delivered reliable supply for decades and continued to play a vital role in supporting households, manufacturers and energy generation across the country.
“Our submission makes it clear the scheme’s design is fundamentally flawed. Queensland is the east coast gas market and while we’re doing all we can to encourage new investment, this policy applies a handbrake,” Minister Last said.
“Despite being presented as a national scheme, carve-outs have been signalled for other jurisdictions, while Queensland’s existing domestic reservation policy and role in underpinning the domestic market have not been recognised.
“What we need is more exploration, production and infrastructure – reallocating existing supply does not address the root cause of the issue.
“Queensland’s LNG exporters, domestic-only producers, explorers, investors, trading partners, and regional councils have all expressed concerns about the lack of genuine engagement from the Commonwealth.
“The Crisafulli Government is open for business and will continue to stand up for Queensland producers, regional communities and the thousands of workers whose livelihoods depend on a strong resources sector.”
