Statement by Steve Knott, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association  

The Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association (AREEA) welcomes the Federal Government’s commitment of support for the nation’s gas sector.

It’s long overdue recognition that gas has a significant role to play in the energy transition and Australia’s future.

The world’s energy security depends crucially on the ongoing role of gas in the energy mix.

For Australia, this has broader implications than reserves of resources and the technical capacity to extract them.

With strengthening international production, stable policy settings for a competitive investment environment must be a top priority.

Excessive regulation, tax, red tape and new and unnecessarily complex industrial relations transaction costs only make it more difficult to do business, deterring investment and hurting productivity and jobs.

AREEA will work closely with the Government to ensure the wider regulatory system removes barriers and puts Australia in a prime position to secure investment in new gas projects.