The Australian Financial Review surveys the country's top business leaders each year, asking for their views on the economy, politics, and industry.

CEO Adam Watson participated in this year's poll to share his perspective on the opportunities facing Australia in 2026.

He highlighted that Australia is well-placed to lead in the energy transition, provided we get the policy settings right. His responses outline why domestic gas is essential to firming renewables, powering local manufacturing, and enabling the AI boom. He also discussed the need for bold investment to keep energy reliable and affordable.

"One of the major challenges for the Australian economy is getting the right policy settings to unlock private investment, particularly in the energy sector. We know how critical energy is to all parts of our economy.  

We are optimistic the Federal Government’s Gas Market Review will provide more clarity for the gas sector, but they need to move quickly and ensure the recommendations are simple and practical.   

The Queensland Government has demonstrated how to get energy policy right. At the beginning of the year, they said private sector investment needs to underpin Queensland's future energy system and the work is now being done to deliver. They set an ambition, and some boundaries, and are letting the private sector get on with the investments required to make the transition happen. A great example is the proposed Brigalow Peaking Power Station which APA is progressing in partnership with CS Energy.

"Reliable and affordable energy is central to improving productivity across the economy. From our perspective, certainty around regulatory and policy settings helps unlock investment, particularly in new gas supply and the supporting infrastructure needed to deliver for the key manufacturing sectors of our economy.     

This will help get domestic gas prices under control. Local manufacturing contributes over $100 billion to our economy each year and supports over 1 million jobs directly and indirectly, so the stakes are high."

"There are obvious challenges around the need to expand housing supply and affordability. Beyond housing, any levers that have been proven to address inequality, like a robust education system and well-funded healthcare, require a strong economy and economic growth. The economic growth we need simply won’t happen without a reliable and affordable supply of energy.   

Uncertainty around energy policy has a ripple effect across the entire economy. It generates further uncertainty around whether an affordable energy supply will be consistently available. Without being able to confidently predict access to energy, manufacturers and industries such as hospitality, for instance, will simply not consider new investment. Energy costs also put additional strain on households and high energy prices can exacerbate inequality.   

The good news is that these issues can be addressed. We are one of the most fortunate countries in the world in terms of energy availability, particularly when it comes to gas. With the right policy settings, we can unlock the investment needed to integrate more renewables and deliver the transmission, storage and gas-powered generation infrastructure that is essential."

"We need to pivot how we think about LNG exports – they are an enabler of domestic gas supply. For this to happen, we must get the right policy settings in place.   

Australia has a comparative advantage over most nations in terms of energy availability. We have a once in a generation opportunity to accelerate growth across all sectors of the economy by working towards reliable, affordable and lower emissions energy systems.   

A factor for this is the Commonwealth Government’s Gas Market Review. The policies need to set out ways to unlock this advantage and address how domestic gas users can have a ready supply made available, while at the same time de-linking international and domestic prices.

The right policy framework can ensure producers are incentivised to develop sufficient volumes of gas to export into the global LNG market, while securing energy supply domestically. LNG export provides the scale to develop projects that can deliver domestic gas to east coast markets."

"The leaders in our business hear me talk all the time about the need to manage risk, not just avoid it. Australia has some real challenges, but we are also an incredibly fortunate country. Globally we’re entering a new epoch, defined by AI adoption, geopolitical shifts and the energy transition. We will have to be bold to capture the emerging opportunities from these shifts.   

In terms of support from stakeholders, the last 12 months has seen a critical shift to a more sensible conversation around the role of gas in our economy and Australia’s energy transition. Being bold enough to have an honest conversation about the role of gas is incredibly encouraging.   

But we need to do more than talk. There are over 68,000 petajoules of 2P reserves and 2C resources available in eastern Australia, to serve an east coast market that consumes around 500 PJs of natural gas each year. There is no rational reason to be constrained economically by gas shortages. By way of example, connecting Beetaloo gas from the Northern Territory to southern markets is a clear solution, and APA is working hard to bring it to life."

"Like any transformational industry, the pace of change and adoption of AI won’t be steady. There will be periods of rapid change and periods of adaptation and adjustment. You could parallel this to another transformation taking place – the energy transition.   

The energy industry will be critical to AI adoption, as an enabler for data centres to rollout. According to AEMO, data centre energy consumption could reach 6% of the NEM’s grid-supplied electricity (around 12 TWh) by 2030.¹   

By unlocking domestic gas supply and investing in gas power generation and transmission and storage, we can support a rapid rollout of renewable energy and position Australia to be a leader in the AI race, at the same time as decarbonising our energy system."

"Significant investment in renewable power generation and in firming capacity, through gas and batteries, to keep the lights on when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. Gas is going to continue to have a critical role to play by firming renewables, powering our manufacturing sectors and helping to keep the lights on in remote grids.  

Governments must prioritise accelerating the delivery of new renewables projects and urgently unlocking new domestic gas supply. Without new domestic gas supply from places like the Beetaloo, Australia faces a future where we become increasingly reliant on LNG import terminals, undermining energy security and delivering higher energy costs for households and businesses."