Australia's gas policy is holding back investment, warns Orica CEO Sanjeev Gandhi

Sky News AU

10-05-2025

The CEO of a major Australian manufacturer has bemoaned the nation's gas policies, arguing better strategies in the United States meant investing there was far more attractive than Down Under.
Watch the full interview with the CEO of a major Australian company on Business Weekend at 11am (AEST).
After securing a sweeping victory in the federal election, many leaders in the business community have called on Labor to make Australia a better environment for business investment.
The nation's energy mix and access to gas are major considerations as concerns about supply and energy security weigh heavily on the minds of business leaders.
Sanjeev Gandhi, the CEO of $8 billion Australian chemical and explosives maker Orica, has joined Sky News to lament the business conditions in Australia compared to the United States, where the company also has operations.
'Just look at what's happening in the United States. They are pro-manufacturing, they are pro mining, they are for infrastructure. All of that is where Orica plays and they've got very, very cost competitive energy prices,' Mr Gandhi said.
'So given a choice, my incremental dollar would always go first to the United States and Australia doesn't come on the top of the list.'
Orica uses gas in its manufacturing to create ammonia, which is then used to produce other chemicals like nitric acid and ammonium nitrate.
The availability of gas in Australia has been of great concern over the past few years with large amounts of the fossil fuel going overseas while domestic shortages loom.
Mr Gandhi said more certainty on gas supply in Australia could bolster the nation on its net-zero transition by attracting leading support for the green shift.
'If we can get enough gas supply at cost competitive prices, my next dollar comes into Australia and then I'm able to support - with my know-how, my knowledge, my technology - the transition away from fossil fuels,' he said.
'So it's all a matter of getting the policy right.'
The Coalition went to the previous election promising a domestic gas reserve, however Labor, which sees a role for gas in its energy mix, did not back this plan.
Another point of focus for Mr Gandhi was the Albanese government's Future Made in Australia policy that seeks to bolster green manufacturing and industry.
'If you want to have a future made in Australia, manufacturing very clearly needs cost competitive energy, electricity prices, cost competitive natural gas, and enough availability of gas and obviously skilled labour,' he said.
'If we can address those policy issues, I'm very, very confident that manufacturing will not just survive and thrive in this country, but then we, as manufacturing owners in the country, will be encouraged to do more in Australia.'
The Business Council of Australia's CEO Bran Black also highlighted the importance of gas during the Albanese government's second term.
He told Business Now last week that gas was a critical issue for the nation's industries, with bringing more supply into the grid the main focus for many manufacturers.
'In terms of gas, in order for us to get more supply into the systems we've got to be looking very closely at how we can go about making our approvals system faster,' Mr Black said last Thursday.
'One of the key things that business has been advocating for is a single desk approach to approvals.
'That means that instead of having a federal approval and a state approval, you have the states, for instance, accredited to look out for the federal approval process at the same time that they're running their own approvals processes.'