Domestic gas claims wrong: Premier

Premier Alan Carpenter has dismissed claims made in today's The Australian newspaper regarding the State Government's domestic gas reservation policy.

Mr Carpenter said there had been no modification of Western Australia's domestic gas reservation policy, and the assertion of a blanket reservation requirement was incorrect.

"We have never talked about applying a blanket reservation requirement and have always made it clear that we would be flexible in our domestic gas reservation negotiations," he said.

"We are fully aware that the financial impact of domestic gas reservations is likely to vary between projects, and as such, it will be important to design some flexibility into the system, such as enabling projects to 'trade' domestic gas reserves.

"That has been our position since day one and is clearly outlined in our domestic gas reservation consultation paper, which was released in February this year."

The Premier said a domestic gas reservation policy was not new and that his sole intention was to secure WA's future energy supplies.

"Our domestic gas reservation policy is overwhelmingly supported by the people of WA who understand the ramifications of not securing domestic gas reserves," he said.

"If we do not move to secure long-term future gas supplies for domestic use, then the State's economy will be left vulnerable.

"We cannot run the risk of 100 per cent of WA offshore gas reserves being contracted for sale to overseas buyers and none of it made available for WA consumers.

"That would be a dereliction of my duty as Premier and our duty as the WA Government."