The Albanese government has brushed aside industry criticism that caps on gas and coal prices will cripple investment saying they are desperately needed to make sure Australians are paying a ‘fair’ amount on their bills.
Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen defended the decision to keep a lid on wholesale gas and coal prices on Sunday saying Australians should not be having to pay ‘wartime prices’ because of the conflict in Ukraine creating a worldwide shortage.
‘This argument really goes to say we believe we need profits as high as we can get during a war, during a global energy crisis for our industry to be viable, nobody is going to believe that because it’s just not true,’ Mr Bowen told Sky News.
‘This is Australian gas on Australian soil and Australians should pay a fair price but they shouldn’t be paying a wartime price.’
Mr Bowen argued that without price controls and $1.5bn given to the states and territories to spend on power bill rebates many business would be facing bankruptcy.
Under the agreement reached on Thursday between the Albanese government and state and territory leaders, gas prices will be capped to $12 a gigajoule for 12 months, while coal will be temporarily capped at $125 a tonne,.