In addition to price there is also the issue of whether it is...

In addition to price there is also the issue of whether it is physically possible to access the gas in the time required.

It is worthwhile looking at the article by Keith Orchison that was mentioned across at the MEL forum: -

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/9/2/industries/brace-nsws-rude-energy-shock

The relevant section is quoted below: -

"It’s New South Wales that bears the pain. Santos tells the Assembly committee that policy-makers should not get too excited about the chances of Victoria’s gas providing a get-out-of-jail card.

“Existing pipeline and supply capacity from Victoria cannot alone meet New South Wales peak demand,” says Santos. “It is insufficient to meet demand on four out of every five days.

“In order to meet demand post-2016, pipeline and supply capacity from Victoria in to NSW would need to more than double at an investment of multiple billions of dollars.”

Not only is this unlikely to happen, adds the company, but this level of development has a lead time of more than five years. In other words, if work began today, it will be 2018 before it is completed."

So you are right and price is a critical consideration, but as you can see above it might not be available at any price.

So the point remains, unless NSW does something (and it could be in relation to gas beyond its own boundaries) now, it will be short of gas - or in other words "run out".