Gas use tipped to rise 17pc

AUSTRALIA's domestic use of natural gas could rise by up to 17 per cent a year, federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane told the Australian Pipeline Industry Association yesterday.He said increasing local use of natural gas was a high priority for the Government and that "gas production in Australia was expected to increase by 6 to 7 per cent a year for the next 20 years".
He would be "pursuing a reform process to increase that growth, hopefully by another 10 per cent or so, on an annual basis", with the first step to be the dismantling of state-based regulatory systems.
The proposed reforms include establishing a single national wholesale and retail market operator.
APIA chief executive Cheryl Cartwright responded that the Government's hopes were ambiguous and could cost the national gas-transmission industry dearly.