However, she added, “We have more work to do”.

Although there is sufficient local gas this winter, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) renewed warnings last month that gas users in southern states face shortfalls in the event of extreme winter weather conditions by 2025 and annual shortages by 2028 unless more supplies are made available.

Australia’s enduring reliance on gas – a major source of the greenhouse gas emissions that are dangerously heating the planet – has come into sharper focus as governments step up commitments to decarbonise.

In Victoria, where more than 2 million homes and businesses still use gas, the state government has banned gas hook-ups in new homes and is developing a program to encourage people to switch their gas-based appliances to electric alternatives.

However, AEMO and energy producers warn those declines in usage would not happen fast enough to avoid shortfalls.

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Gas industry representatives on Friday said producers were fulfilling their commitment to supply Australian homes and businesses, but insisted that opening more production fields in Victoria and NSW – closer to the areas that demand the most fuel – was the only long-term solution to keep gas flowing and affordable for domestic users.

“There is only so much the sector can do by itself,” Australian Energy Producers chief Samantha McCulloch said.

“Australia has abundant gas reserves, but needs the political will to restore investment confidence and ensure timely approvals for much-needed new gas supply.”

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the Albanese government had taken strong action to protect gas supplies and prices, including the introduction of a mandatory gas industry code of conduct that has locked in additional supply commitments from ExxonMobil, Woodside, APLNG and Senex.

Bowen said those commitments would deliver 564 petajoules of gas into the domestic market to 2033, which would boost local supplies and help fuel the nation’s fleet of gas-fired power generators to support the deployment of renewable energy.

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