APIA chief executive Cheryl Cartwright said the government had to focus on increasing gas supply.

“This is the challenge facing the federal government as it develops its energy white paper,” she said.

“But in the more immediate term government must focus on access to gas supply.”

Speaking on the eve of the opening of the APIA conference, Cartwright said Australia did not need to be short of gas when the major Queensland LNG terminals started operating and exports started filling their contracts.

“We have ample gas reserves,” she said.

“It’s a case of ensuring we have timely and open access to those reserves so the needs of exporters and domestic users can be met.

“The debate about gas supply often turns to the operation of the domestic gas market systems.

“This is a convenient distraction on which many policymakers will focus.

“It may be the easy option for policymakers but it’s not the answer.

“The tendency to focus on gas markets – while an appropriate and useful exercise – is a distraction and will not address the expected gas shortage. Increasing gas supply is the answer to any shortage or price hike.

“Governments in New South Wales and Victoria are being encouraged to allow more access to CSG and this is appropriate. But our offshore reserves should not be ignored either.”

Cartwright’s views were echoed by Jemena strategy, regulation and projects executive general manager Shaun Reardon.

“For the right policy settings to unlock the golden age for domestic gas supply, governments will need to do three things – bring forward gas supply, start to level the playing field for gas-fired electricity generation and, if gas prices spike to unsustainable levels in the short-term, undertake temporary action to prevent large gas-reliant businesses from moving offshore or ceasing operations,” he told the APIA conference.

“Bringing forward gas supply will need a policy that allows the benefits of this country’s valuable gas resources to be maximised.

“The gas industry has an important role to play here by engaging with local communities to understand and respond to their concerns.”

Reardon warned, though, that care had to be taken to ensure that any changes did not damage the efficiency of the gas market.

He also called for the establishment of a technology-neutral emissions intensity scheme for electricity generators to encourage the next wave of generation capacity investment, which was expected to occur from 2020 onwards.

“This would allow gas to be used as a cost-effective, reliable and clean source of electricity generation,” he said.