AFR readers reject Andrews’ ‘populist’ household gas ban
More than half of respondents to The Australian Financial Review’s latest reader poll say they don’t support the Victorian government’s move to ban gas connections in new houses from next year.
Victoria has by far the highest use of residential gas in Australia, with about 80 per cent of homes connected, and the state accounts for about 65 per cent of total Australian household gas use. About 40,000 new homes in the state are connected to gas each year, the government says.
The Victorian government has moved to ban gas connections to new households from January 1 next year. Luis Enrique Ascui
State government figures show the gas sector contributes about 17 per cent of the state’s emissions. Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the move to electric systems was a key element of meeting Victoria’s emissions reduction targets of 75 per cent to 80 per cent by 2035, and net zero by 2045.
Of the 451 respondents, drawn from Financial Review readers, 52 per cent did not support the policy, while 38 per cent were supportive and 10 per cent were unsure.
“Petroleum and gas will be with us for the medium term, like it or not. Imposing limitations only increases the prices of all the downstream products,” one reader said.
Echoing these concerns, another reader said the move from gas to electricity was “premature”. “We need to get the electricity supply up to scratch first, then look at the economics. At the moment, gas is a significant competitor to electricity for significant domestic uses. We need to know that the move will not lead to increased domestic utility changes as a consequence.”
Another reader said that the state government should focus on an “orderly transition” to renewables “rather than populist measures to ban gas
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