Pauline Hanson must answer for her newly-elected state MPs' abandonment of One Nation's national gas policy when she fronts the Australian Energy Producers Adelaide conference this afternoon.
One Nation, which holds the south-east seat of MacKillop, has declared it will not back a State Government Bill that will end the blanket ban on hydraulic fracture stimulation in the region.
That's despite One Nation endorsing fracking across the rest of SA, and despite the party's own website carrying an energy policy declaring support for "Australian gas as a key national asset for our economy, our regions, and our energy security".
"Gas production supports well paid, skilled jobs across regional Australia from exploration and drilling through to processing, transport and maintenance," the policy platform declares.
"These jobs help keep regional communities alive, backing local businesses, schools and services that depend on steady work and steady wages.
"Gas is also essential for many Australian manufacturers that rely on it not just as a fuel, but as a feedstock for fertiliser, plastics, chemicals and food processing.
"A strong Australian gas industry means stronger regional communities, resilient supply chains, and a real base for rebuilding domestic industry rather than watching it move offshore."
But rather than help secure more domestic gas that can be used to shore up our energy security, Senator Hanson's newly-elected South Australian MPs have instead chosen to join a Coalition of the Unwilling with the shambolic and ideologically-bereft SA Liberals, who have likewise talked a big game on backing gas generation, only to unashamedly kowtow to political opportunism when given the chance to actually deliver on energy security.
Let South Australia's two Opposition parties be in no doubt of the extent of their folly this week: Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher told the AEP conference only yesterday: "It's the moratoriums, it's the fact that the southern states, which have a lot of gas under their feet, are not prepared to develop it - that's why we have a shortage today."
As The Advertiser's editorial said yesterday: "One Nation has revealed itself as true populists, swayed by sentiment rather than having the courage of conviction to follow its own policy."
As the party's national leader, Senator Hanson must use her visit to Adelaide and her platform at the Australian Energy Producers conference to pull her troops into line.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
Feigning support for energy security but doing everything possible to undermine it when it comes to the hard work of policy is something we've come to expect from the SA Liberals.
It's extremely disappointing to see One Nation follow the same template.
It seems the Liberals and One Nation are a uni-party when it comes to opposing more gas for South Australia.
One Nation say one thing nationally and do another thing entirely locally.
It's wrong to hide behind arguments about environmental impact, particularly when both parties support fracking in every other part of the state. As in all cases, the Energy Resources Act sets out a rigorous compliance and enforcement framework for assessing any gas extraction proposal, including hydraulic stimulation activity.
Pauline Hanson was unambiguous about her party's commitment to gas – her own words before the election were "Drill, Baby, Drill". She must use this opportunity to remind her SA MPs of the policy platform on which they were elected.
