Paper manufacturer Australian Paper wants urgent government action to cut surging gas prices that it says threaten thousands of manufacturing jobs.
Brian Green, purchasing manager utilities at Australian Paper, owned by Japan's Nippon Paper, said he had been unable to secure affordable long-term gas supplies for the company’s manufacturing facilities in Victoria. Gas supplies need to be locked in by the end of the year to avoid possible cutbacks in operations.
Green, chairman of the Energy Users Association of Australia (EUAA), called on federal and state governments to intervene immediately to help industrial energy consumers cope with massive price hikes.
“Some EUAA members have seen their gas prices more than double overnight. It’s just greed - and a desire by producers to get the best possible market rate. Businesses will either go out of business or head overseas. Elsewhere in the world, gas prices have been halved, but here in Australia we’re being asked to pay double.”
The start-up of LNG exports from Queensland this year and delays in coal seam gas development in New South Wales have combined to force up prices for domestic users. Green says both federal and state governments need to get together with gas producers to work out a way to bring resources into production in NSW and allow manufacturers to adapt to higher prices.
“Energy was once cheap in Australia but gas and electricity prices are just soaring and thousands of jobs are at risk,” said Green. “There will be a massive impact on families and I fear that one day soon we’ll be seeing headlines about old people who are dying because they can’t afford to turn on their heater.”