Australia news LIVE: Australia could import gas to deal with shortages; Safeguard mechanism debate resumes
Key posts
- Australia looking likely to import gas to fix looming shortfalls
- Gas shortfall warning heats safeguard mechanism debate
- Australia should reconsider building its own defence equipment
- Chinese president to visit Russia this week
- This morning’s headlines at a glance
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Australia looking likely to import gas to fix looming shortfalls
Australia could be just years away from importing gas, despite the nation’s vast production of the fuel, amid new warnings of looming energy shortages that have seen an east-coast shipping terminal developer report growing demand from customers seeking liquefied gas cargoes from 2026.
Mining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s privately owned Squadron Energy is building what could become Australia’s first terminal capable of receiving shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Queensland or overseas, and turn it back into vapour to supply homes and businesses.
The tight east coast gas market has triggered proposals to import LNG.Credit:
The proposed Port Kembla Energy Terminal, near Wollongong, has emerged as one of the most viable near-term solutions to boost gas supplies into NSW and Victoria, where the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is projecting an energy shortage when gas demand outstrips supply by 2027.
Read more on the potential gas shortage here.
Gas shortfall warning heats safeguard mechanism debate
The energy market operator’s urgent warning of a gas shortage has heated up a political brawl between the Greens and the federal government as time runs down for Energy Minister Chris Bowen to reform the safeguard mechanism to deliver on Australia’s legally binding climate target.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released last week a forecast that the east coast would run short of gas by 2027 unless new supply projects opened up, or exports from Queensland’s LNG export terminals are turned back for the local market.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
AEMO said Victoria, the state with the highest household gas demand and rapidly dwindling supply from its Bass Strait fields, could suffer a gas shortage as soon as this winter in the event of extreme weather conditions.
More on this story available here.
Australia should reconsider building its own defence equipment
The Productivity Commission has cast doubt over the federal government’s decision to build nuclear-powered submarines in Australia, using its major report into the nation’s economy to argue for a complete re-appraisal of how the country meets its defence needs.
In the same week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed off on the AUKUS submarine project with the United States and Britain, at a cost of between $268 billion and $368 billion, the commission’s five-year review of productivity found that in most cases Australia was better off not developing its own defence production capability.
The Productivity Commission has raised doubts over the need to build nuclear-powered submarines in Australia.
The commission’s report, Advancing Prosperity, made 71 recommendations across more than 1000 pages of analysis.
The full story on the report is available here.
Chinese president to visit Russia this week
Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a strong message of support for Vladimir Putin with his three-day visit to Moscow this week, even as he pitches Beijing’s proposals for brokering an end to the Russian leader’s war in Ukraine.
Xi’s trip marks his most ambitious effort yet to weigh into Europe’s bloodiest conflict since the Second World War, and will be followed by his first conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky since Putin’s February 2022 invasion.
This visit comes as Xi is rebooting his image as a global statesman after securing a third term as president.Credit:AP
It comes on the heels of China’s successful efforts to help Iran and Saudi Arabia patch up years of discord.
But while Xi’s “rock solid” backing of Putin ensures a warm welcome in Moscow on his first trip abroad since securing a third term as president, it also makes him a harder sell as an honest broker to mediate an end to the war. Both Moscow and Kyiv have been cool to China’s vague peace proposals, which Ukraine’s allies in the US and Europe dismissed outright.
Putin made a surprise trip to occupied Mariupol, the Ukrainian city largely destroyed by a months-long Russian siege, according to a Kremlin statement and video released on state television.
Ukraine is preparing an offensive with new weapons provided by its allies, while Russia is digging in for a long fight, hoping to outlast Kyiv and its supporters. Each side blames the other for being unwilling to talk.
Xi’s Moscow visit is a chance to tout his image as a global “statesman” and challenge US global dominance, defying Washington’s efforts to isolate Putin, who’s hosted only a few other leaders since the war. The trip comes as tensions between Washington and Beijing have spiked.
Bloomberg.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning, and thanks for your company.
It’s Monday, March 20. I’m Caroline Schelle, and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day.
Here’s what you need to know before we get started:
- Australia is looking likely to import gas to fix looming shortfalls, despite the country vast production of the fuel.
- The warning of the gas shortage heated up the debate on the safeguard mechanism, ahead of parliament returning this fortnight.
- According to the Productivity Commission’s latest report Australia should reconsider building its own defence equipment, including submarines.
- Treasurer Jim Chalmers hit back at “hypocritical” Coalition over superannuation tax reforms.
- Meanwhile, the Victorian Opposition leader John Pesutto will move to expel a Liberal MP over neo-Nazi rally links.
- In NSW, Premier Dominic Perrottet clawed back ground ahead of the state’s election, but Labor is still favoured to win government.
- Turning to overseas news, Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit Moscow for a three-day trip this week as President Vladimir Putin has visited occupied Donbas.
- Swiss banking giant UBS will buy Credit Suisse in a historic, government brokered deal.
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