CANBERRA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned gas exporters that a domestic shortage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) would be "clearly unacceptable" ahead of talks with industry leaders on Wednesday.
Industry watchdogs have warned that a gas shortage is looming in Australia, while gas exporters continue to take large amounts of the resource offshore - raising the prices for local companies and households as well as eating into the supply for energy production.
Turnbull said gas exports must be in the national interest, and if there was risk of a domestic shortage, the gas must be kept onshore.
"(It is) absolutely vital that Australian industries, Australian businesses, Australian families, have the gas they need at a price they can afford," Turnbull said.
He said it was not unacceptable to "have a gas shortage on the east coast in its domestic market."
"That is clearly unacceptable. I will be continuing the discussions and the industry knows exactly where I stand and where my government stands," Turnbull said.
The meetings between gas industry heads and the government were scheduled after the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) warned there would not be enough gas to supply power stations by next summer unless the government stepped in.
Meanwhile opposition leader Bill Shorten backed Turnbull's pledge to keep gas onshore, saying he has "one job," which is to secure the domestic gas supply before it is too late.
"Malcolm Turnbull's got one job tomorrow: It's to bang heads and get all the businesses who are producing the gas to prioritize Australian jobs and Australian business before they export gas we need here overseas," Shorten said.
