Friends of the Earth Melbourne says the Victorian Liberals’ plan to "throw open the door" to new gas exploration will push up the cost of living, deepen climate pollution, and leave everyday Victorians, not gas companies, paying the bill.

Shadow Minister for Energy and Resources, David Davis, said: "Our plan is straightforward: ask industry where the gas is, cut the red tape and get more Victorian gas flowing to Victorian consumers sooner.”

Under the policy, a future Coalition government would launch a statewide Request for Proposal process within 60 days of taking office, inviting gas companies to nominate their preferred exploration areas, fast-track environmental approvals, and stand up a new Cabinet sub-committee to prioritise permits.

This is NOT an energy plan, it's a fat hand-out to the gas industry dressed up as a cost-of-living measure. Handing gas companies a blank cheque and a pen so they can decide where and how fast they can drill won't lower anyone's bills. Even if they can find any more gas, it will lock Victorian households into a polluting, unstable fuel for decades to come, right as the rest of the world is moving off it.

Local supply won't fix the price problem

Victoria's dwindling gas reserves are in small, scattered pockets of the Bass Strait, nowhere near the scale needed to insulate households from volatile fossil fuel markets. The Australian Energy Market Operator has itself warned of supply shortfalls emerging later this decade. Chasing marginal new gas fields does nothing to change this underlying reality, and any new gas found would take years to reach the market, but households need relief right now. 

Continuing to improve access to electrification for all Victorians is the answer to reducing household bills — electricity supply is going up and gas supply is going down, the economics and the environmental benefits are aligned; while the Liberals’ policy to hand gas companies more profits will only hurt everyday Victorians further. 

A health and climate problem, not a solution

Gas is not a clean or cheap alternative. It's a major source of Victoria's climate pollution, and burning it indoors is linked to poor air quality and higher rates of childhood asthma. Expanding gas infrastructure now as Victoria works to cut emissions this decade runs directly counter to both the science and the economy.

Energy justice requires policy plans for vulnerable Victorians, not propping up a declining industry

An energy justice approach asks ‘what’s the fastest and cheapest way to bring down bills for everyone?’, and the evidence shows that we need to get residents off expensive gas altogether, not keep trying to find more of it. We need to properly fund electrification for renters and low-income households who are least able to make the switch themselves, protect and improve current building electrification standards, and back in a fully resourced transition for fossil fuel workers and their communities. Anything less just shifts the cost and risk onto the residents who can least afford it.

Friends of the Earth Melbourne’s Energy Justice campaign is calling on all parties ahead of the November election to:

• Rule out new fossil gas exploration and infrastructure approvals.

• Protect and strengthen Victoria's building electrification standards, rather than winding them back.

• Fund targeted, no-cost electrification programs for renters, social housing tenants and low-income households.

• Commit to a fully funded Just Transition plan for gas and coal workers and affected communities.