Australians back gas — but the pipelines to deliver it are stuck in regulatory limbo

The Australian Pipelines and Gas Association's latest edition of EnergyShift Australia research confirms Australians overwhelmingly support gas continuing to play a significant role in the energy mix. Yet regulatory limbo is preventing the pipeline investment needed to get gas from where it is produced to the homes, businesses and industries that need it.

EnergyShift, conducted by the RedBridge Group, has been measuring Australian attitudes to energy since 2023. Across six waves of research, it has consistently found that Australians increasingly support gas as part of the energy mix, with backing hardening across the political spectrum and across every state.

Key findings from the latest wave include:

• 71% of Australians believe gas should play a role in Australia's energy transition alongside renewables, with 36% saying it should play a major role — including 61% of Greens voters.
• 71% of Australians support government action to increase supply, improve reliability and lower the price of gas over the long term — a position backed by 49% of Greens voters, making it one of the most bipartisan energy propositions tested.
• Support for increased gas production has climbed from 53% to 63% over the life of the track, with double-digit gains in Victoria (+11 points to 64%) and among male voters (+12 points to 67%). Views are hardening — and they are hardening in favour of gas.

APGA chief executive Steve Davies said the findings should sharpen the focus of government and policymakers working on energy supply and security, Future Made in Australia and the ongoing Gas Market Review.

"Australians have made up their minds about gas. The question isn’t whether the public supports it but whether regulatory settings will enable the required infrastructure to get built to deliver it in a timely manner given forecast shortfalls," Mr Davies said.

Mr Davies said the consequences of regulatory uncertainty will fall on the industries Australia is trying to build. Sovereign manufacturing, critical minerals processing, fertiliser production and the broader industrial base that underwrites Australian jobs all depend on gas reaching them reliably and at a competitive price.

That, in turn, depends on pipeline capacity being expanded, and in some cases built for the first time.

"Every project delayed or scaled back because of regulatory uncertainty is a domestic supply chain left more exposed to the very international volatility we are trying to insulate ourselves from," Mr Davies said. "The regulatory risk sits on the pipeline; the consequences land on the industries the country is trying to build."

APGA is calling on the Gas Market Review to deliver regulatory settings that match the scale of public support for gas, starting with modest changes to the Form of Regulation Review process, so that the pipeline investment Australia needs can proceed with confidence.

The full EnergyShift research suite, spanning every wave from 2023 to today, is publicly available on APGA's website at www.apga.org.au.

About

The Australian Pipelines and Gas Association (APGA) represents the owners, operators, designers, constructors, and service providers of Australia’s pipeline infrastructure, connecting natural and renewable gas production to demand centres in cities and other locations across Australia. Our members offer a wide range of services to gas users, retailers and producers and ensure the safe and reliable delivery of 28 per cent of the end-use energy consumed in Australia.

Contact

For further information or the opportunity to engage with Mr Steve Davies please contact:

Paul Purcell

Mountain Ash Advisory

paul@mountainashadvisory.com.au

0422 247 750