Crisis averted: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Sydney on Wednesday. Credit:Mick Tsikas "One of the big problems in the gas industry is that it has been very opaque...there has been very little transparency, and we're going to bring that to an end by putting the ACCC on the case," Mr Turnbull said. Mr Turnbull said the reporting measures would "shine a light on what has been a very opaque industry and that sunlight will ensure more gas at better prices for Australians". Shell Australia chairwoman Zoe Yujnovich said the company was committed to understanding demand in the market and securing gas supply. "Shell understands that if it is to maintain public support for a gas export industry, Australian customers must have access to a reliable and affordable supply of gas," Ms Yujnovich said.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said there had been no need for the government to restrict gas exports. Credit:AAP Coal seam gas producer Australia Pacific LNG welcomed the discussions, which chief executive Warwick King said achieved strong progress towards a joint industry-government solution to resolve the east coast gas market shortfall in 2018. "We are very pleased to contribute to a solution which will provide certainty for Australian customers to have access to available gas," Mr King said. Labor's energy spokesman, Mark Butler, said the government should have introduced the export limits.

"It appears that Malcolm Turnbull thinks that the way you get results is, instead of speaking softly and carrying a big stick, you talk a lot and you throw away the stick," Mr Butler said. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce – who is also Resources Minister and has responsibility for the gas trigger – said the mechanism had worked as a deterrent. "I see policemen every day and they have a car, a siren and they have flashing lights and they have a holster on their hip. We don't expect them to use it every day," Mr Joyce said. An Australian Energy Market Operator report released earlier this week forecast a shortfall of up to 107 petajoules in 2018, and outlined the damage this would have on Australian manufacturers and households. "They have given us a guarantee that they will offer to the domestic market the gas that was identified as the expected shortfall by AEMO in 2018," Mr Turnbull said today.

"They will offer, as a first priority, domestic customers any uncontracted gas in the future," he said. ​Qenos, one of Australia's largest industrial gas users said pricing still needs to be addressed. "Whilst having secure gas supply is critical to both Australia and Qenos, it is also essential that this is at a competitive price," Qenos CEO stephen Bell said. "The prices being quoted for contract supply in recent times are not sustainable for large industrial users such as Qenos." Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said export restrictions should still be considered to ensure commitments were kept.

"The Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism remains an important tool to compel cooperation by gas exporters, the Government must not hesitate to invoke its powers at the first sign of non-compliance or fudging," Mr Willox said. Mr Turnbull also launched a fresh attack on the NSW and Victorian state governments over their bans on onshore gas development. He claimed Victorian customers paid an 11 per cent premium on the cost of their gas bills and NSW customers pay an extra 5 per cent, because of the cost of shipping it south from Queensland to the southern states. The Prime Minister reserved his strongest words for the Victorian Labor government. "Victoria has got plenty of gas.There is plenty of gas in Victoria, onshore gas in Victoria," Mr Turnbull said.

Mr Turnbull lashed the proposal from AGL that an import facility in Victoria might help solve the problem. "The only obstacle to getting it out is the Labor government," he said. "The idea that Victorians are going to have to pay the cost of shipping gas from the Middle East or from Louisiana or from north-west Australia because they have a government that is not prepared to access the gas resources in Victoria is extraordinary. "It is a shocking indictment of [Premier] Daniel Andrews and his government. He seems to be an enthusiast for it. He wants Victorians to pay more for gas." An Andrews government spokesman said Mr Turnbull should stop blaming others and act immediately to cap gas exports.

"Malcolm Turnbull is crowing about a short-term fix that he himself admits will increase gas prices for Australians." Victoria's ban on fracking has bipartisan support. Neither Labor nor the Coalition supports fracking, a controversial drilling technique used to extract gas by injecting high-pressure liquid underground, in Victoria. The Greens also oppose it. But the political agreement does not extend to the Andrews government's moratorium on conventional onshore gas exploration. Loading