If AGL is allowed to proceed with its floating storage regasification unit this is what I feel about it:

“Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the government supported the facility due to its potential to bring cheaper gas to Victoria. She said strict environmental requirements would need to be met before any decisions were made.”

Just one month ago, Daniel Andrews said on Radio Melbourne, “it is not a gas shortage, we produce in Victoria double the amount of gas that we use each year, about 405 Pda joules that what we produce, we use just over 200 pj’s every year.  What they’re saying (AGL) is that so broken is the gas market that they can land Australian gas back here in Victoria cheaper than we can buy it, it is a very, very broken system and they think there is an opportunity, not because of a shortage but because of market failure if you like to be very, very profitable.

I say two things:

  1. What this tells us is that the environment and residents of Westernport are clearly being forced to pay for energy market stuff ups. All our gas has been exported so now they are using the argument that importing our gas back through Crib Point is cheaper… How stupid is that? It wrecks both the immediate Westernport environment and liveability for locals while also greatly adding to emissions (the energy used to extract the gas, ship it around the world and back again plus the regasification processes).
  2. The government has supported the proposal publicly since August last year BEFORE any examination of the consequences.
    How can the environment minister back a project well before any studies have even been commenced? It is blatantly obvious that so many of the other factors have not been taken into account; like the economic value of a healthy bay, the proposed car ferry from Stony Point to Phillip Island, the impact on the residents and that’s aside from the obvious potential environmental consequences.

Want to know what AGL’s assessment says about the social impact of their 300m floating gas nightmare? 

They write:

“the Project would deliver benefits for the community by contributing to energy security and the provision of employment opportunities for the local community”

We would have energy security if our government looked at the big picture, invested in renewables and had not allowed all our gas to be imported in the first place.

Westernport: paying for government error.