To tackle the energy crisis about to send our bills skywards, the Albanese government last week capped gas prices temporarily in the east coast market, proposing a figure of A$12 per gigajoule. A gigajoule of gas has the same energy as about 26 litres of petrol.
But has the government been too generous to the three gas majors? After all, before the Ukraine war and sanctions on Russia jolted prices up, the average price gas producers were asking to supply gas next year was around $9.20 per GJ, with 96% of price offers under $12. Australia, of course, is the world leader in producing and exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), so there’s no issue with supply.
