Rinehart loud and clear on fossil fuel future

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart is a big fan of the motto 'drill baby drill', not to mention 'dig baby dig'. But these words were becoming timid whispers in Australia, she told those gathered for the official opening of the Surat Basin processing facility as Senex Energy forges ahead with its $1 billion Atlas natural gas field expansion. "These days some like to claim that our country can run on sunbeams and windmills alone," she said. "By all means put these on your own properties if you wish, but don’t force it on us or taxpayers when the wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine on solar panels. Natural gas, your essential industry, does provide the reliability homes, hospitals and businesses need." Ms Rinehart (pictured above) is executive chair of Hancock Prospecting, which owns Senex Energy along with POSCO International Corporation. She said Hancock was one of increasingly few companies investing in large projects in Australia. "The investment flow, thanks to government policies, and despite Australia’s plentiful supply of resources, is going the other way," she said. "Our investment will triple Senex’s production from 2022 levels, so that we can supply gas that Australians need. "If we don’t bring in sensible policies to turn the investment flow back to Australia, what does this mean? It means yet more lowering of living standards, more record business closures, projects being delayed with the greatest burden of government tape and regulations our country has ever seen, 80 per cent of resource projects in the pipeline becoming casualties." The Atlas and Roma North developments will supply up to 60 petajoules of natural gas annually when the expansion is complete, representing more than 10 per cent of the annual domestic natural gas demand on the east coast. Senex Energy chief executive officer Darren Stevenson said gas provided about 40 per cent of energy used for manufacturing in Australia and helps drive a $100 billion industry that employs 890,000 people. "Natural gas is fundamental for Australian manufacturing, providing the high heat and feedstock required for many critical processes that manufacturers rely on to produce everyday consumer products from bricks and bottles to plasterboard and steel,” Mr Stevenson said. Manufacturers including Orora, Bluescope, Visy and CSR all rely on Senex Energy to help meet their demand for natural gas. Ms Rinehart said the Australian government was focused on plans to close the fossil fuel industry and, with it, reliable energy. "It’s time for people who want a future in fossil fuels, or who have businesses dependent on reliable fossil fuels, to be active in calling for Australia to have its own DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency, well, efficient thanks to Elon Musk and a fellow billionaire, Vivek Ramaswamy, who will be in charge of it, (or similar, dingo) to bring about a necessary cut in government tape and regulations, and to reduce inflation causing government expenditure and waste."

Rinehart loud and clear on fossil fuel future

Industry Queensland

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