Shane Jones: Associate Energy Minister on the LNG import terminal decision being put on hold due to the upcoming election
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Why is the LNG import terminal deal unlikely to be signed before the election?
Uh looks like this L and G terminal deal's not gonna be signed before the election. Cabinet committee I think met yesterday. No decision was made. So what's going on? Shane Jones, Associate Energy Minister with us. Shane Morning. Was there a meeting and was if in in the meeting what was agreed or not agreed?
Yeah, obviously. We're at the end of um Parliament.
How does the upcoming election create a constitutional convention of restraint for energy decisions?
We're now m moving into a period of restraint. Uh there's two things that are happening, obviously ongoing discussions through a procurement process at Simeon's running, and the fact that we're bumped into the cold hard reality of a period of restraint before everyone goes off to vote.
So you're all you're all in agreement it if you had another day or two you could do it, you would do it, you should do it, or is there disagreement within the group?
No, no, no, no. We've all agreed that the buffer fuel, um, uh should be gas. We're not creating enough gas in New Zealand, although Methenics have uh shuttered and Genesis, the energy company, have got the gas which they use then to turn water onto steam that drives the turbine, that creates the power for you and
I.
But uh we can't
overlook the fact there's a constitutional convention of restraint. Right, so it's as simple as that.
Why does the coalition consider gas the essential buffer fuel for New Zealand’s energy security?
If you had more time you would have done it, you simply run out of time. Nothing more to see here.
Yeah, not far the time has snatched away the opportunity, um, because of the next six weeks. People need free air, um clear line of sight and go and vote for who they want to run the country. You gutted? Yeah, look, so much of uh energy politics is ribbon And although I accept on the other side of the house they want us You know, to have more windmills and solar energy and all the rest of it.
What are the consequences for manufacturing and industry if New Zealand can’t secure LNG supply?
But when mother nature isn't blessing us with enough power, we need either coal or gas and we're not creating enough gas in New Zealand despite my best efforts to spend two hundred million dollars and I've been hobbled by this wretched Supreme Court who continually catastrophizes climate change and that slows things
down. Did you were you happen did you happen to be at the Gas New Zealand conference last week?
Uh I spoke I think I beamed in. I wasn't physically present. I was represented by Martin Gummer, who's one of our um political um candidates, but he is a very knowledgeable chap about the ebbs and flows of uh the gas industry. It's just I got a text from a
person who was there who basically said the guy from the Bakers Association was the best speaker there by a mile, talked about the importance of gas, LNG, etcetera. And and manufacturing it says here the transition of companies has meant that out of approximately five thousand, two and a half thousand have either gone bust or moved offshore. And I've seen no reportage of this.
What insights did Shane Jones share from the recent Gas New Zealand conference?
Is that true? In other words, if you need gas and you can't get it, you basically close up and move move Move away.
Yeah, I mean we use gas, uh, not to put everyone off their breakfast for crematorians in New Zealand. We use gas for making bread. We use gas for industry. It's not just a electrify uh uh uh an electric uh reality and the chap you're referring to is Martin Gummer, he's a very fine and knowledgeable ch um guy in the gas industry.
All right, appreciate your time, Shane Jones, who's the Associate Minister. So the text reads as follows Mike, I just heard the news about LNG.
How does Shane Jones summarize the need for a unified energy policy moving forward?
I went to the conference last week. Standout speaker was the CEO of the Bakers Association. He could not have been more emphatic that if we don't get LNG and use it, not just for dry gear, but for topping up our natural gas supply, New Zealand's going to lose eleven of its biggest bread makers because many are multinationals and will simply go offshore because electrification will cost too much. For electric ovens. Another analyst said, sound the alarm, red alert, if you don't have a unified policy or a united policy on energy, we will lose all manufacturing and industry. So far, the transition of companies has meant out of approximately five thousand, two and a half thousand have either gone bust or moved offshore.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Why is the LNG import terminal deal unlikely to be signed before the election?
0:00–0:20
2
How does the upcoming election create a constitutional convention of restraint for energy decisions?
0:20–1:08
3
Why does the coalition consider gas the essential buffer fuel for New Zealand’s energy security?
1:08–1:39
4
What are the consequences for manufacturing and industry if New Zealand can’t secure LNG supply?
1:39–2:36
5
What insights did Shane Jones share from the recent Gas New Zealand conference?
2:36–3:07
6
How does Shane Jones summarize the need for a unified energy policy moving forward?
3:07–4:00
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