A $400,000 gas report was ‘kept quiet’ from the WA public. Its findings have now been leaked

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A $400,000 gas report was ‘kept quiet’ from the WA public. Its findings have been leaked

The state government commissioned a $400,000 report into Western Australia’s domestic gas supply, and then chose to keep its findings secret for more than nine months.

The report, Assessing the decarbonisation role of Western Australia’s LNG exports to Asia, from consultancy firm Deloitte was leaked to the public on Thursday.

WA Premier Roger Cook has been questioned over the report.

The study assessed “whether WA’s LNG exports help or hinder our key trading partners across Asia in their transition to net zero emissions”, and found the government’s claim that domestic gas production was helping the rest of the world decarbonise was false.

It stated that “WA’s supply of gas acts as a bridge between the status quo and a net zero world by 2050” but there were “significant risks of crowding out alternative solutions”.

“There are substantial risks that natural gas could crowd out investments in renewable technologies or delay the broader adoption of zero-emission energy systems,” it reads.

“These risks must be carefully managed to ensure natural gas serves as a true bridge fuel rather than a long-term dependency that hinders progress toward decarbonisation goals.”

WA’s peak environmental body has slammed the government over the findings, stating they had “drunk the gas industry Kool-Aid” and were “allergic” to any serious examination of decarbonisation initiatives.

Conservation Council WA executive director Matt Roberts said the report confirmed ongoing gas production crowded out investment in renewable technologies and delayed the broader adoption of zero-emissions energy systems.

“When you read the report, it seems obvious why the government chose not to release it,” he said.

“Fossil fuels are not a decarbonisation measure. You can’t solve a crisis by continuing to do exactly what caused it.”

He said the leak answered the question of the government’s select committee inquiry into the role of WA in the global effort on decarbonisation.

“The question is then not only why did the government keep the findings secret but why, knowing what the report says, have they sunk taxpayer funds into the decarbonisation inquiry,” Roberts said.

“There is no credible case for ongoing gas expansion in this state, and the report shows that demand for gas from our existing trading partners is set to fall dramatically in coming years.

“Nobody needs our gas – the WA government’s narrative is simply not true, yet the premier is desperate to give our dirty gas away to whoever will take it.”

WA is a significant energy and natural resources exporter, with natural gas being the second-largest export earner behind iron ore.

When asked about the report, and whether he would stop using the line that WA’s gas helps the world to decarbonise, WA Premier Roger Cook said the state’s gas would “continue to be an important transition fuels for economies right across the world”.

“That’s the message that is in that report. It’s the message that we continue to promote,” he said.

“I went to Japan just recently to say we want to be part of the solution for your energy security, but Western Australians want to know that their gas is being used as a transition fuel to get to a clean energy future.”

The WA Greens have also hit out at the findings, with its fossil fuels and climate change spokeswoman Sophie McNeill stating the report exposed the “lies WA Labor have been spinning”.

“No wonder they’ve been hiding it from the public for almost a year,” she said.

“Despite paying Deloitte more than $400,000, the Cook government did not get the narrative they wanted because it is simply not true.

“No matter how hard you try to spin the facts, the demand for WA’s liquified natural gas decreases significantly after 2030 among our existing key trading partners: Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.”

Cook said while they had not released the report publicly, it had been used to guide government conversations and discussions.

“[Gas is] important to our economy, it’s important to thousands of Western Australian jobs, and it’s important as part of our role in the clean energy transition.”

The findings from the Deloitte report come after federal Environment Minister Murray Watt approved Woodside’s extension to the life of its North West Shelf gas project to 2070.

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