Walter Wriston, the long serving CEO of Citibank, famously said, “capital goes where it is welcome and stays where it is well treated”.

Late last month APA announced a ~$500 million investment to expand our east coast gas infrastructure to address bottlenecks in the gas pipeline network and ensure we can transport the gas needed to meet projected shortfalls in southern markets later this decade.

We made this announcement off the back of the Federal Government’s December 2025 Gas Market Review Report.

The report recognises the critical role that gas plays in our economy – for industry, and to support the energy transition, building on the Government’s 2024 Future Gas Strategy.

It recognises the need to prioritise Australian gas for Australians via a domestic gas reservation scheme; along with the need for regulatory reform to put downward pressure on gas prices and ensure energy security for our country.

The importance of energy independence has been underscored by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, which provides a stark reminder that we should never rely on offshore markets for a product that sits right under our feet.

A well-designed east coast gas reservation presents the opportunity to end a decade-long gas supply crisis.

Almost 90 per cent of the gas consumed domestically supports Australia’s key industries. Put simply, without reliable, affordable gas, industry and commercial businesses in Australia will come to a grinding halt.

Domestic gas also supports Australia’s significant LNG export market, delivering economic benefits for Australians and energy security for our trading partners. We’re talking around $65 billion in annual export earnings alone.

More than 68,000 petajoules of proven or contingent resources are available in eastern Australia to serve an east coast domestic market that consumes around 500 petajoules each year.

Victoria’s energy basins are in decline. But between Queensland and the Northern Territory, there is enough gas in the ground to support both our east coast domestic market and Asian LNG customers for decades to come.

Emerging new basins – such as the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory and Taroom Trough in Queensland – can underpin our prosperity beyond the gas that’s already being produced. Their development can only be good for Australia.

We also know that an east coast reservation will put downward pressure on gas prices. 

Looking back further, over the last five years gas prices in WA have been, on average, almost 50 per cent lower than gas prices in Victoria.

An east coast reservation also means avoiding the disastrous situation of importing expensive gas from global markets. The UK’s reliance on LNG imports has saddled its economy with some of the highest electricity prices in the world and taken away its energy independence.

As Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King said last week - "the reservation we’re working on is about building resilience in supply and making sure Australian manufacturers and Australian consumers have the gas they need at affordable prices.”

Investing in Australia’s gas infrastructure is a logical, proven, economical and timely solution to meet domestic gas needs.

It demonstrates that when the policy signals are there to attract and welcome capital, the private sector can get on with delivering what’s needed without market intervention.

APA is delivering the east coast gas transport capacity and there’s plenty of domestic gas in the ground. Domestic gas supply is not a constraint and transport capacity is no longer a constraint.

The last piece is the introduction of a domestic gas reservation so Australia’s domestic gas market can get back to what it does best – powering Australian homes and driving Australian industry.

This piece originally ran in The Australian on 9 March 2026.