The Turnbull government will spend $86.3m on its push to overcome state government and landholder opposition to the development of new domestic gas reserves in an attempt slow the increase in power prices.
Amid the ongoing dispute with the South Australian government over who is to blame for energy shortages in the state, the federal energy department will spend $5.2m on a detailed study of two potential gas pipelines to Moomba in South Australia, one from the Northern Territory and one from Western Australia.
The move follows Malcolm Turnbull’s pledge to support the expansion of the Snowy Hydro renewable energy scheme so that it can act as a storage system for renewable power. The budget reveals the government is in talks with New South Wales and Victoria about buying their shares in Snowy Hydro to take full control of the expansion.
An extra $30.4m over four years will be spent on assessing unconventional gas sites – coal seam gas – to determine the impact on water and the local environment. Fears about impact on water are often cited by farming and local community opponents to gas projects.
The government says it will also study restrictions on gas supply on the east coast of Australia and the current and potential supply in south-eastern Australia.
A further $28.7m will go to “encourage and accelerate the responsible development of onshore gas” in plans unveiled by Josh Frydenberg, the environment and energy minister, in the announcements from Tuesday’s budget. The documents do not spell out in any more detail what that money will be spent on.
“Improving the transparency, competitiveness and long-term security of Australia’s east coast gas market is a priority for the government as gas is a crucial energy source as we transition to a low-carbon economy,” the Department of Environment and Energy said.
The department says it is also investigating other hydro-electricity and pumped storage opportunities in Tasmania, South Australia and Queensland.
