The Australian Workers' Union
Scott Morrison needs to pull the trigger on the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism urgently and upgrade its powers, or he will be sending manufacturing jobs to the wall, according the Australian Workers' Union.
Gas prices have doubled in Sydney and more than tripled in Melbourne – pushing costs to unsustainable levels for Australian factories, that generally run on extremely tight margins.
"It is unacceptable for Australian factories to be driven out of business by high gas prices when our country has more natural gas than anywhere else in the world," said AWU National Secretary Daniel Walton.
"It's time for Scott Morrison to pull the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism trigger. If he baulks, he'll be stomping the green shoots of Australia's potential manufacturing comeback.
"This government has thoroughly proven that handshake deals do nothing, and a 'code of conduct' would be similarly worthless. The ADGSM trigger is the only meaningful tool the government has created, but even this needs urgent amendment so it targets price - which is the real issue - and not just supply.
"When gas prices temporarily dipped during the pandemic we warned the relief had nothing to do with the goodwill of the big gas companies and everything to do with global demand. Now global demand is coming back Australian factories are getting gouged once again.
"The PM should ignore the self-interested bleating from the gas cartel and step in to save Australian manufacturing and the hundreds of thousands of quality jobs it supports.
"Australian manufacturing can't continue to be held to ransom by a small group of gas extracting multinationals who should be grateful for access to our sovereign resources in the first place.
"For many months, the ACCC has pointed out that prices are too high and the gas industry is deliberately dragging its heels. It's high time for some leadership."
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