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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-07-02 Daily Xml
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OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:47): My question is to Minister for Mineral Resources Development. I understand that the South Australian government has again received international recognition as a top performer in facilitating investment in oil and gas exploration and production. What is the latest information the minister has in this regard?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (14:48): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. The Fraser Institute just last week announced the results of its third annual survey of senior petroleum industry executives and managers. The survey canvasses issues relating to barriers to investment in oil and gas exploration and production in various jurisdictions around the world.

Provinces, states and countries are ranked by 16 factors that affect investment decisions; that is, regulatory framework, environmental regulation, fiscal and royalty regimes, licensing, taxation, compliance costs, land access, infrastructure, data availability, local gas price, trade and labour regulations, quality of life, security and political stability. A total of 577 respondents completed the survey, enabling the evaluation of a record 143 jurisdictions. As a first, the 2009 survey separated the six Australian states, the Northern Territory and the Timor Gap. So, each was evaluated as an individual jurisdiction.

I am very pleased to say that South Australia was named as the most favourable jurisdiction anywhere outside the United States and Austria. South Australia's one-stop-shop stewarded by PIRSA is the highest ranked agency in the Oceania region, and it is ranked 17th in the world. The Fraser Institute specifically noted the progressive mines department in South Australia, a sentiment which I am sure anyone who has had dealings with PIRSA would support. Commentary from the West Australian newspaper describes South Australia as 'the country's shining light'. If I can be allowed to quote from this recent article in the West Australian, it states:

Australia's petroleum and mining industry has often pointed to South Australia's one-stop shop approvals approach as a preferred mode. NT used the offer of a similar process to lure Inpex's $25 billion Ichthys project from Western Australia to Darwin last year.

I point out that the Northern Territory was the next highest ranked Australian jurisdiction—ranking 32nd. In addition to Austria, 15 jurisdictions ranked in the top 17 are US state governments and the US federal agency that presides over the offshore Gulf of Mexico.

This excellent result from the Fraser Institute, an internationally recognised research and education organisation, follows similar positive feedback from Australia's own Productivity Commission. The national productivity watchdog described South Australia's approach to regulating the upstream petroleum sector as a working example of best practice in a number of key areas. I trust that we can keep that up through the passage of the petroleum bill through both houses in the final week of parliament so that we can maintain that position.

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