A few months back, an article was published with the sort of headline no country wants to read about itself: “Australia Power Crisis Forces Manufacturers to Eye Offshore Moves, Production Costs.” In it, the CEOs of Brickworks, LTD and Boral, Ltd admitted they would either have to cut back on production in their brick and construction businesses or pass on the costs to the consumers.
Almost one year later, the energy crisis continues to force Australia into deeper dilemmas within its political class and its foreign partners. Earlier this month, ConocoPhillips warned the Albanese government that its efforts to impose new rules on gas pricing on the east coast would create “considerable negative consequences” for the country.
From the left, the Greens Party asserted that they would only support legislation to reform the country’s safeguard mechanisms if the administration agreed to no new oil and gas projects.
It really doesn’t have to be like this.
By all rights, Australia should have the cheapest energy in the world. Yet we’re currently number six in countries paying the most per kilowatt hour for electricity. This condition has been years in the making, rising up at an average of 12 per cent over the past decade throughout all of Australia through both conservative and liberal governments.
It’s not a partisan problem. It’s more like a confidence problem – we need to believe in ourselves. We are the most energy-rich country in the world. It’s time we started acting that way.