State bans on coal seam gas development would be
scrapped and the Federal Government would underwrite gas prices and
massively subsidise costs and investment for gas companies, under
confidential plans for a "gas-led manufacturing recovery" post-COVID-19.
methane gas industry calls for sunsidies
Key points:
- Leaked documents reveal a draft plan calling for massive gas subsidies and public investment
- The interim report also calls for reduced 'green and red tape' and an end to all fracking moratoriums in NSW and Victoria
- The National COVID Coordination Commission has several members with deep links to the gas industry
The draft plans, obtained by the ABC, call for the scrapping of "green and red tape" on gas development, including a relaxation of Australian standards for equipment used in gas infrastructure and a loosening of environmental regulations and approval processes.
They are set out in an interim report from the manufacturing taskforce of the National COVID Coordination Commission (NCCC).
The NCCC is a hand-picked team of business leaders and former bureaucrats set up by the Prime Minister's Office to shape the economic recovery from the virus and lockdown, and includes several members with strong links to the gas sector.
The manufacturing taskforce includes business representatives as well as union leaders from that sector.
Its draft report advocates "underwriting new [gas] supply with government balance sheets" to allow gas producers "to invest with confidence and new pipelines to be built to get the gas to markets".
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