As Victorians’ gas bills soar with no sign of abating, both the public and the business community are right to question whether the Andrews Government or the Opposition have a game plan to address the energy supply issues responsible for the hit to our businesses and households.

It will be tough for any Victorian political party to convince our members – Victorian businesses - that any plan that maintains the moratorium on the exploration and development of onshore conventional gas will be good for our state in the long term.

Maintaining the moratorium is a band aid that will do little to prepare us for mounting energy bills as our onshore gas reserves sit untouched. 

Instead, Victorian businesses are calling for a comprehensive strategy to protect and prepare us for an energy crisis over the next few decades.

Gas will only become more important, as we move away from coal fired energy generation.

Standing by the current moratorium on the exploration and development of onshore conventional gas until 2020 is reckless. Precisely at the time we should be exploring new reserves, both the Government and Opposition are committed to holding our state back by restricting growth in local gas supplies.

In the Otway and Gippsland basins, conventional onshore gas reserves are off limits while some Victorian businesses are facing a doubling of gas costs this year.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s recent inquiry into the east coast gas market warned that limiting access to new gas supplies has the potential to result in higher prices for Victorian gas users.

The ACCC also found that the high cost of transporting gas from Queensland would further increase cost pressures in Victoria. This is because, if there is insufficient gas supply in the southern states, our next option is to purchase gas from Queensland and pay hefty costs for it to be transported to Victoria.

It is this uncertainty around our gas supply and prices that installs fear in the business community, which cannot predict the increased costs it will likely face and can only imagine the worst.

Businesses are rightly nervous that if rising energy costs continue unfettered, those that can’t absorb or pass on the financial burden will be forced to close their doors.

It is vital we remove the moratorium on exploration and instead install a regulatory regime to manage the risks of individual gas supply projects on a case by case basis.

Proven and reliable technologies are available that do not involve fracking and at the very least should be investigated. 

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry strongly believes the Victorian Government needs a comprehensive plan to ensure that businesses have access to secure and affordable energy supplies so that our state can to remain competitive.

This message from Victorian businesses must be heard now, before time runs out to prevent a crisis that will affect us all for decades.

This opinion piece first appeared in the Herald Sun on 16 February 2017.