John Englart

Peter Khalil says role of gas should be limited, in response to citizen pressure

Future Gas Strategy gives green light to expand gas and continue beyond 2050

The release of the Future Gas Strategy on Thursday (May 9) by Madeleine King, the Minister for Resources, angered many of us in the climate community about the Albanese Government expanding gas when we have a climate crisis.

Climate Action Merribek had actually done a detailed submission for this strategy based on scientific insights with 35 recommendations and felt we had been almost totally ignored.

So we had about 30 People outside Peter Khalil’s office on Sydney Road on Friday, singing and chanting, but otherwise being peaceful. We were pretty incensed that our MP had not made a statement like other Backbench Labor MPs.

We handed in 44 personal letters urging strong climate action collected at the Glenroy Festival .

By Friday morning Peter Khalil had failed to make any public statement on the Future Gas Strategy, unlike several Labor backbench colleagures including Josh Burns and Jerome Laxale (statements below) . We wrote a press release overnight on this silence and issued it early Friday morning. We presented a copy of this media release – Call for Wills Labor MP Peter Khalil to come clean on dirty gas – to his staff when we presented the letters at about 11.30am.

After us a couple of citizens presented the Australian Security Climate Leaders report – Too Hot to Handle – to the staff.

Our protest was all over by 12.15pm

Around 2pm Peter Khalil published a statement on Facebook. It was good to see him respond, but we would have rather see him respond in a more timely fashion when his colleagues were critical and being outspoken.

“The role of gas should be limited to what is absolutely necessary for our transition to a low-emissions economy. Not one bit more.” said Peter in a statement.

We’ll take this as a Win for the citizens of Merribek.

here is what two other Labor backbenechers said:

The Labor Environment Action Network (LEAN) were also greatly unimpressed with the strategy with LEAN members being highly criticial. LEAN issued an open letter on the 13 May: LEAN OPEN LETTER ON THE FUTURE GAS STRATEGY.

Update: How they voted on the Future Gas Strategy

On Wednesday May 14 there was a vote brought on in the House of Representatives on the Future Gas Strategy.

Adam BANDT, the Greens MP for Melbourne moved a motion:

That the House:
(1) notes the world is on track for a catastrophic 2.5 to 3 degree warming of the planet based on current policies;
(2) acknowledges that coal and gas are fueling the climate crisis;
(3) condemns the Future Gas Strategy which intends to expand gas production to 2050 and beyond; and
(4) calls on the Environment Minister and Resources Minister to stop approving new coal and gas mines.

“We are in a climate crisis. With scientists on the weekend saying that they are despairing at the possibility of delivering something close to a safe climate to our kids and grandkids, with people in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales still unable to get back into their homes after the devastating floods, with people in Queensland and Brisbane unable to afford to insure their houses because the risk of coal and gas fuelled floods is now so severe, and with the Great Barrier Reef bleaching yet again on the very same day that the Prime Minister and the resources minister turn up to celebrate the thousandth gas shipment going out of ports there, it is vital that today we debate now and call on the government to stop approving new coal and gas mines.” said Bandt.

“What is crystal clear now, after the announcements we’ve seen over the last few days, is that Labor want coal and gas past 2050, at a time when they told us they were going to get to zero pollution. They now want it past 2050. The environment minister has approved coalmines to run past 2050. The government now, in a cabinet endorsed gas strategy, says they want gas to 2050 and beyond. 2050 would have been too late to reach zero, but now we’re not even going to reach it then, because Labor’s policy, crystal clear, is to keep opening new coal and gas mines and have it running past 2050, even though every scientist is telling us that that is a recipe for catastrophic heatwaves and floods and fires for people who are going to primary school today. It means that during the lifetime of kids at primary school today they will see Australia lose its capacity to feed itself as the Murray-Darling Basin evaporates and becomes 92 per cent less productive than it is at the moment. It will mean they go to every school holidays and Christmas holidays worried about how many people are going to die in the heatwaves and bushfires that will hit that year, because this parliament and this government failed to get the climate crisis under control.”

Bandt goaded the Labor backbenchers who were critical to cross the floor on the Future Gas Strategy, but none of them did so.

The motion was seconded by Max Chandler-Mather. Dr Charlton defended the Future Gas Strategy for the Government, but it was mostly look over here at all the good stuff we are doing with renewables. Independent MPs Chaney (Curtin) and Ryan (Kooyong) spoke in favour of the motion.

This afternoon the MPs for Macnamara, Wills, Cooper, Richmond & Moreton all backed new coal and gas and failed to vote against the Future Gas Strategy.

The House divided. [16:58]

Ayes…………………..13
Noes…………………..97
Majority ……………..84

Future Gas Strategy

Some of the highlights of locking in gas expansion, including beyond 2050:

  • “New sources of gas supply are needed”
  • “Australia is, and will remain, a reliable trading partner for gas”
  • “the importance of gas in Australia’s electricity sector will increase.”
  • Says gas is needed for the ‘Future Made in Australia’
  • Australia will continue to release acreage for offshore greenhouse gas storage and is reviewing its offshore regulatory regime
  • The government is “reviewing its offshore regulatory regime” to support the dangerous distraction of subsea carbon dumping

Photos

References:

Ministerial Statement, 9 May 2024, The Hon Madeleine King MP, Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia, Future Gas Strategy, 
https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/king/media-releases/australias-future-gas-strategy

The science on fossil fuel extraction and climate targets:

The backbench MPs Josh Burns, Jerome Laxale, Sally Sitou, Josh Wilson and Carina Garland issued statements that either criticised or urged caution about the government’s future gas strategy. Anthony Albanese faces internal revolt from inner-city Labor MPs over gas strategy, 9 May 2024, The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/09/anthony-albanese-faces-internal-revolt-from-inner-city-labor-mps-over-gas-strategy

The Australian Conservation Foundation calls the strategy a “blueprint for climate chaos”. https://www.acf.org.au/gas-strategy-a-blueprint-for-climate-chaos

Greenpeace Australia Pacific says it’s “a betrayal of Australian and Pacific communities.” : https://www.greenpeace.org.au/news/kings-future-gas-strategy-a-betrayal-of-australian-and-pacific-communities/

Climate Council, 9 May 2024, A Future Gas Strategy that sends us back to the Future. https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/a-future-gas-strategy-that-sends-us-back-to-the-future/

Stephan Long, Australia Institute, 10 May 2024: Future Gas Strategy Takes Australians Through The Looking Glass https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/future-gas-strategy-takes-australians-through-the-looking-glass/

Renew Economy, 9 May 2024, Labor caves in to fossil fuel cartel as it locks in gas beyond 2050 amid deepening climate crisis, https://reneweconomy.com.au/labor-caves-in-to-fossil-fuel-cartel-as-it-locks-in-gas-beyond-2050-amid-deepening-climate-crisis/

Note: Climate Action Merribek made a submission to the Future Gas Strategy. Our insights were pretty much ignored in favour of supporting Gas Industry submissions. Read Our submission drawing upon science, which had 35 insights and recommendations: Submission to Federal Government on Future Gas Strategy. Strategy needs to be driven by climate science and need to phase out Fossil Gas in the Climate Emergency, 27 November 2023. https://climateactionmerribek.org/2023/11/27/submission-to-federal-government-on-future-gas-strategy/

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