FOR D THURSDAY 2S Y 198
or a little more than that, from about 1969. But now we. have
mtahne y cidricfufmesrteanntc epsa rtisn owfh icthhe nactouurnatlr y. gas is extending out into -71
areas as can economically carry the capital costs invol. ved. An
CONSTRUCTION OF NATURAL GASq PIPELINE FOR CANVtE, RRA
example of the challenge over recent years, in my own State
thery arneg wayseom ething likwe ast t hmomieis otnh at are serviced by1910.
natural gas. Oil heated conversions thfuel over the l asdt ecade
or alittle more atbhoaunt t1h, a0t0,0 9f6ro9m. But now wehaweek.
the ircumstances whine n natural gasf iirss t linked I understand it
would be feeding a thousand homes and 100 buildings, but the
potential is for about 30,000 hones or more. Therefore it was
manyobvious to extend the pipeline to this city and to undertake a
reticulation system for the people of Chave led to the circumstancerra.
in which conversion to natural gas is promoted by economic factors-
I am glad that Ithink wobuelden nodtohnaes very much in collabged tenor fifteen
with private enterpribse come moretahnadt, asntG oav ernmenpt riwceth e of fuel.
just decide risent o it as a Governen tI. t is something in whichmany
areas as can erise ough to be sinificantly involved and I am
glad to see that it is.
At the of tVenichcalleSu mmit Meeting of the seven major economSitcte countries.
feaw days ago, the decisions million homes thindicattheadt over the
coural gas. Oil heated cmonajvoert hres ions inducstoriualn tries must break
about 1,000 a week.
the link that energy crises have fpiuriss t on growth anddeopmerstand it
woudtinh e feedmianjdours trial counthroimdes and 100 buildings, but therica,
and also of Japan. Indeed the decisions that they made have
confirmed the wisdom and the strength of Australia's own energy
poliies. ntialisI tw orth noting that all international organisations
obvious teox tend thepr icing mechatnoi stmh iasip eline ancidty to undertake a
achieving sensai ble use of end one vergy in parnodm oting greater
with explorationa nd conversion that a as Government we did not
just decide to do it as a Governient. It is something in which
private enterprise ought to be significantly involved and I am
glad
At the Venice Summit Meeting of the seven major economic countries
a few days ago, the decisions made there indicated that over the
course of this decade the major industrial countries must break
the link that energy crises have put on growth and developmentin
the major industrial countries of Europe and North America,
and also of Japan. indeed the decisions that they made have
policies. It is worth noting that all international organisations
have endorsed-the pricing mechanism as the major factor in
achieving a sensible use of energy and in promoting greater
exploration and conversion to other forms of fuel. v.
o
2
Under our oil parity pricing policy, which is one of the things
that has led to the great promotion of natural gas in Australia,
S oil exploration is now five times that which it was in 1975.
In 1980, 50 to 60 on shore wells will be drilled. Five or six
years ago about five on shore wells were drilled. Esso and BHP
have committed themselves to $ 1.2 billion worth of additional
exploration and development as a result of the policies. The
North West Shelf is getting underway at a cost of many billions
of dollars and the Rundle partners are moving forward in partnership
with Esso, in the pilot stage, which itself will cost several
hundred million dollars to test the production of fuel oils from
shale. It is expected that that will be successful and oil from
shale will start to fill in the very serious gap that will occur
in Australia as production of Bass Strait runs do-. n severely
towards the latter part of this. cade.
Indeed, the shale oil deposits in Queensland are vast and future
developments there, costing many billions of dollars, will lead to
Australia having a continuing degree of independence and self
sufficiency of a kind that we would not be able to have if we. had
to purchase all our supplies from OPEC countries, or alternatively
if we had pricing policies which did not encourage and make that
kind of development viable. There are already over 3,500 kilometres
of gas pipeline in Australia, including this pipeline to Canberra.
there are over 2,000 new kilometres planned or approved. And
after five years we believe that something approaching a million
barrels of oil will be saved each year by the access of the
citizens of Canberra and the industries of Canberra to natural gas..
And this is the kind of saving that can come with. proper pricing
policies and with a vigorous promotion of this particular form of
energy. This site is going to the heart of the underground reticulation
system. The Commonwealth is likely in this city to be a major
consumer and this spot is also the centre of the Parliamentary
triangle. I think it is, in a sense, a symbol of the importance of
co-operation between government and the private sector, which is
of course exemplified by the way this reticulation system is going
to be put into being and gas piped to the homes of people right
throughout this capital.
I think it is a mark of the Government's confidence in the future
growth and development of Canberra, but it is also a mark of the
confidence in the kind of policies that we have pursued.
I would like to say one further thing about world parity pricing
policy for oil. I do not think it is a particularly popular policy.
I don't like it when I get the bills from my own farm because they
are much higher than they used to be. But the Government pursues.
that policy not only because it believes it'to be right,
but also because it knows the policy to be necessary for the
well-being of Australia. We do not want the future to arrive and
to have our children when they come to stand in our places in a
few years time being beggars for fuel on the international markets,
forced to pay the highest spot prices, whatever they might be.
Under those circumstances they would have to go through a conversion
period of getting-used to different energy circumstances as Bass
Strait oil got used up, which would be much more difficult than
anything that we have had to experience at the present time. * 1
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33
It would not only be difficult for individuals, for farms and
for industries, it would be difficult for the whole country.
Our policies have been designed to maintain a real. sense of.
security and independence in Australia in relation to fuel and
energy reserves, to bring on alternative forms of energy as is
happening with the increasing use of natural gas, as will happen
with the development of the shale oil. reserves.
This will . ean that Australia will have a continuing sense of
self sufficiency, a continuing degree of self sufficiency which
is important and a sense of independence of the kind that we now
have. It would have been a very easy policy to say: " let's
continue to use up our liquid fuel supplies cheaply it's
available to us this generation today". But it would have been
an enormously selfish policy and it would have been a policy thatignored
the needs of our kids in 3 or 10 or 15 years time. I
believe that it is the objective of all Australians to try and
leave this country a better place than when they entered it and
this is one of the policies which is very important in seeking
to achieve that particular objective.
We will be leaving the future more secure, more certain and much
safer than it would otherwise be. That is why the world parity
pricing policy is important and that is why the policy will be
maintained. It is necessary for the future security of Australia
in the broadest sense and it is necessary for the well-being of
our own children. I think that that is an objective that all
Australians would want to share in.
I would like to congratulate all those that are involved in this
project. I would like to congratulate the company that is
involved in the reticulation system. I am sure the work will
be done efficiently and well and as far as the Government is
concerned the sooner it is completed the better. It is all very
well laying foundation stones or turning sods, but I think when
something is completed it is the better side, or the better end
of the ceremony. So the day when gas can be turned on to the
citizens of Canberra is really the end point that we are looking
for as a result of what has begun today.
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