Support for keeping gas in Australia grows

Three in four Australians would approve of the federal government forcing energy companies to set aside a proportion of gas for domestic use.

An overwhelming number of Australians want the federal government to make energy resource companies keep some gas aside for domestic use.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hauled gas company chiefs to Parliament House last week, warning them if not enough gas was available for Australian industry and electricity generators the government had powers it could use to force the reservation.

Three in four Australians would approve of such a policy, an Essential poll published on Tuesday finds.

Support for the measure is highest among coalition voters at 82 per cent, with Greens voters close behind.

The federal government and resources companies have in part blamed state government bans on gas exploration and development for the problems.

But a majority of voters think the coal seam gas mining should be banned completely (25 per cent) or restricted on farming lands (31 per cent).

Coalition voters were more likely to think coal seam gas mining on agricultural land should be restricted and more than half of Greens voters wanted it banned altogether.

About one in seven thought there was sufficient regulation of coal seam gas mining, while nearly a third said they didn't know.

Another poll of voters in cabinet minister Peter Dutton's Queensland electorate, conducted by ReachTEL for the Australia Institute, found a majority (56 per cent) opposed using taxpayer money to subsidise building new coal-fired power stations.

It found voters would most prefer governments subsidise new large-scale renewables or battery storage projects.

More people said they had no opinion which energy projects should be subsidised than said taxpayer money should go to new coal-fired or gas-fired power stations.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world