JEREMY JONES: Well, among a few portfolios, Labor Senator Anthony Chisholm is Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Assistant Minister for Resources. Senator, welcome to Breakfast. Will this reduce the cost of gas for regional Queenslanders?

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: What we're confident of, Jeremy, and good to be with you and your listeners, is that this will put downward pressure on gas prices. That's going to be a win for energy consumers and households out there. But importantly for regional Queensland, it'll be a win for industrial users as well. And we know that there's a reliance on gas across much of regional Queensland. We've seen that recently in what we've been dealing with in Mount Isa, for instance. So, we think this is going to be good for households and good for industrial users as well.

JEREMY JONES: You mentioned downward pressure. What does that look like for the average Queenslander?

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: Well, what we're confident of is that by implementing a gas reservation, this will ensure that we have enough gas for domestic use in the country. And that's something that has been a challenge in recent years, which is crazy when you think about it, considering how much gas we produce. So, we think this is an important reform. It's one that has been long needed and talked about for a period of time. But we're the ones who are going to implement it and we are confident it will have a positive impact on the Australian economy. Good for households and good for industrial users as well.

JEREMY JONES: According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, gas bills on average have gone up 130 per cent during the past 15 years. The scheme doesn't come in until 2027. Will we see shortages before then?

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: Well, at this stage we're confident that we will have enough gas to cover us in 2026. What we announced yesterday is that we will implement a reservation. What we said is that we'll go out for consultation about how we best implement that over the next six months and then it'll take about another six months to get it in place. So, this will apply from 2027. But we think it was important to make the announcement yesterday. And the importance of the announcement yesterday is that any prospective - this is prospective, so it will apply to any gas deals being made now. And that we think is an important one to ensure that this reservation is successful.

JEREMY JONES: Right, can you tell us a bit more about that. So, prospective deals. So, I guess remaining deals in place remain the same, business as usual?

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: That's right. And we know how important foreign investment is for resource projects in the state of Queensland and the country. So, we didn't want to jeopardise those long-term international arrangements which have been really good for our state and our country. But we also know that we need to do the right thing by Australians at the same time and we think we've got that balance right in terms of how this reservation is put into place. There's obviously been a series of interventions from various governments in the gas market over the last decade. But we think this reservation can deliver for Australian consumers and industrial users, but not put at risk those international relationships which have been really important for the development of our resources sector as well.

JEREMY JONES: Proponents in the north west have been calling for this type of policy for some time. The region's not connected to the national electricity grid, so, so no other options out there. Maria James from MITEZ told ABC Drive yesterday that they want the 25 per cent reserve to be the minimum and the changes brought in before 2027. What do you say to that?

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: I understand the urgency around this and I've spoken with many of those people in the north and northwest who are very passionate about this, including yesterday where they welcomed the announcement. There is a lot of detail and it is a complex policy area, so we need to get it right. We think the timetable we've set is an ambitious one, but we'll be consulting with those groups over the next, over the coming months to ensure that we get the policy right. But we are confident it will have a positive impact for those industrial users which are so important for jobs in the economy. In the north of Queensland.

JEREMY JONES: You're hearing from Labor Senator Anthony Chisholm. Greens groups have mostly backed the proposal. They've also cautioned that it must not be used as an excuse to develop more gas fields. Is that a likely outcome here?

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: We are confident that it will bring more gas into the market, which is really important. So, obviously it's up to private enterprise to go out there and invest and look at exploration opportunities. But we know that there's going to be strong demand for gas, both domestically - it's important for energy, but it's also important in terms of what we're supplying into Japan, for instance. They don't have their own energy security, they rely on Australian gas. So, we play an important international role as part of that. But we also need to ensure that we're looking after our domestic customers and our industrial users as well, because that's important for them.

JEREMY JONES: Assistant Minister for Regional Development and for Resources, Labor Senator Anthony Chisholm. Thanks for your time this morning.

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: Thanks, Jeremy, and Merry Christmas to your listeners.