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Gas crisis will hit hard: Minister


ANGELA MACDONALD-SMITH



16 Dec, 2013 10:00 AM



SOTUH Australian Resources Minister Tom Koutsantonis has warned that his state won't bail out NSW and Victoria with gas supplies to help avoid a crisis that he says those States have brought on themselves because of failure of political leadership.


Mr Koutsantonis said he was very concerned a stalemate over onshore gas exploration in NSW and Victoria could cause energy prices in South Australia to surge, putting pressure on an industrial sector already worried about the loss of General Motors Holden.

"It's not a science-based debate. It's an emotional debate, and Barry ­O'Farrell and Denis Napthine need to stand up, and stand up to the naysayers and do the right thing by the communities," Mr Koutsantonis told The Australian Financial Review.




Gas prices hot topic



The Minister spoke after Friday's biannual meeting of state, territory and federal resources and energy ministers, where rising gas prices on the east coast and worries about energy shortages were a major topic of debate.

The meeting saw a clash between South Australia and Queensland, which are moving ahead on onshore gas and urging more rapid progress in other states, and Victoria and NSW, where industry ­development has stalled because of regulatory restrictions.

"We're going to take it slow," said Victoria's Energy Minister Nicholas Kotsiras. "The reason why we have to be cautious is because [Queensland and SA] have failed to ensure that the environment is considered.

"We don't want to make that type of mistake, so we are in no hurry."

But Mr Koutsantonis said the NSW and Victorian governments had a "moral obligation" to develop their energy resources for the community, and should be working to open up land access for gas exploration based on ­science, rather than being swayed by an emotional debate led by the anti-gas lobby.

"I can assure people that anyone investing in my state who signs a long-term contract will not get a phone call from me or this Labor government saying change your contracts and divert gas to NSW or Victoria because of a crisis they've made: it's not a pipeline blowing up, it's not an act of war; it's a failure of political leadership."